The struggle is real. There aren’t many students who will go through their four years here without having some sort of class in Shilling Hall.

Of course, schedules being as they are, it’s likely that a student will, at some point, try to make use of the vending machines on the first floor of Shilling Hall. However, unfortunately for all student, the machines don’t accept flex; and how many college students carry around cash to their classes? Not that many.

One must wonder; why do the machines even have swipe card capabilities if they will not accept cards? For several semesters, the vending machines in Shilling have graced hopeful snackers with messages of “Cash Only” and “No Cards,” much to students’ dismay.

Sophomore commuter student, Mikayla Mendenhall, had much to say on the subject. “I feel bad for the students who live on campus,” Mendenhall said. “Many of these students do not have vehicles. Einstein’s would be the next seemingly obvious choice, but their prices can be a little steep, along with the time-consuming wait in line.”

The fact that the machines don’t take flex is an extreme inconvenience to the students. Additionally, it’s not just the machines in Shilling that are temperamental. The machines in the lower level of the library occasionally go through spurts when they will not accept coins of any sort.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that the machines are so unpredictable,” Mendenhall said. “As a commuter, it would be much more convenient to use the vending machines, but I simply cannot rely on them and have to wait until my long break between classes to drive to McDonald’s.”

The issue is especially troublesome for those who have evening classes in Shilling. It is not unusual to see students huffily trying to dig up whatever change they can find on their breaks from their evening classes after finding out the machine will not take their flex card.

Will “No Cards” be the abysmal message that greets those who are simply trying to grab a quick bite? Or will the cries of the hungry be heard?