Carl's Jr. Is a Fading Star

Santa Monica College Carl's Jr. lovers now will have to take a stroll up Pico Boulevard to the nearest Burger King in order to enjoy French fries, burgers and super sized sodas. Carl's Jr. has decided to move out of the SMC cafeteria when their contract will expire next year. Campus Kitchen will replace the soon to be empty space in no time if the architectural plan is approved in the following weeks.

To the hopes of many, Campus Kitchen will offer a variety of food and healthier choices for the SMC students. The debated unhealthiness of Carl's Jr. has always been an issue across American college campuses. While many think Carl's Jr. is not the healthiest choice others are still mesmerized by its fast food taste and cheap deals.

Vesna Hocevar, a theatre major student at SMC, finds Carl's Jr. moving out really great. "I hope it will be replaced by a healthier alternative," Hocevar said.

Many people would agree that eating at any fast food joint is unhealthy. Even if you try making the right choices at Carl's Jr., such as ordering a salad instead of a burger people would be surprised to find out that a salad has actually about 880 calories. So the deal isn't worth the price after all! It is really hard to find a single person on campus that wouldn't agree to Carl's Jr. low health standards. "It's a nice idea that the school wants to input more healthier food stands, however Carl's Jr. is very convenient. A lot of people are going to be upset," said Alyssa Tyson, an SMC college student. Their cheap deals compete with people's cravings and diets daily. "It's cheap but it's prying on the fact that students don't have a large amount of income at their disposal," said Leanne Tallis, an SMC theatre major. "It's very good they're leaving."

Carl's Jr. was founded in 1941 and with headquarters in Anaheim, Calif. It surely has a long history among Californians, but perhaps Santa Monica College is slowly attempting to change a history of proven unhealthy eating habits. Healthy or not, Carl's Jr. is moving out and Campus Kitchen marking a new generation of eating standards.