As I know I've posted before, I generally find the food offerings here at Bates satisfactory, if rarely exemplary. That's not to say there's no room for improvement. This morning, for instance, as I finished the Times crossword, I noticed an insert in my table's napkin holder announcing the upcoming "Adventures in Dining" the fine folks at dining services had scheduled. Adventures in Dining, for the uninitiated, are supposed to be, "The culinary showcase of Bates Dining," to steal a line from the Dining Services website. Usually this means they serve cotton candy, corn dogs or cake with Harry Potter-inspired sprinkles. Or, as will be the case in the next three weeks, some sort of revolting Canadian French fries with cheese and gravy, sausage bombs, and make-your-own Valentine's Day cupcake.

Forgive me if I sound like an elitist food snob, but these are not so much adventures in dining as they are adventures in risk-taking behavior. It hardly surprises me that obesity, heart disease and a host of other diet-related health problems have become more prevalent given that even the wealthy, presumably intelligent students at a top liberal arts college consider French fries with cheese and gravy an adventure in dining, or something that shows off the best of Bates Dining Services at any rate.

Admittedly, the Dining Services people occasionally do something that qualifies in my mind as a true "adventure." A few weeks ago, for instance, they attempted to serve sushi. (Again, forgive my pretense: what they served may have looked like sushi, but it didn't really taste like sushi.) These occurrences are few and far between, however, and even sushi, for the sort of cosmopolitan students that attend liberal arts colleges like Bates, is not really much of an aberration from the beaten path.

So I issue my challenge. How about some real adventures in dining? Why not give lavender-infused sea bass a try, or attempt some kind of savory sorbet? Would cassoulet or real macaroons be such a stretch? And where is that delicious crusty bread I was promised so many times? I've seriously considered joining Eli Zabar's "Bread of the Month" club to satisfy my craving for real, honest-to-goodness bread.

Given last year's focus on sustainable, healthy eating, it's almost laughable that our dining commons serves corn dogs or deep-fried chicken "nuggets" with any frequency. This is an educational institution: paternalism is part of the package. Let's nix these revolting dishes and expose students to the culinarily unexpected.