It’s a sad, sad story – the Grove Caffe is about $23,000 in debt. Facing a possible closure or, slightly less dire, a potential nonstudent manager to run a historically student-controlled business, the Grove is undoubtedly in need of some help. What this board wonders, however, is why the A.S. Council, and Associate Vice President of Enterprise Operations Sydney Goldberg in particular, allowed the situation to progress to this point?

An A.S. enterprise not succeeding financially isn’t exactly a shock. It’s no secret that other enterprises have only turned marginal profits at best (Soft Reserves managed to boost its income by driving competitors off campus last year). The Grove itself has a history of bleeding money. So why did councilmembers appear so surprised at their March 14 meeting when the extent of the Grove’s debt was discussed? At the very least, they should have anticipated the problem, and we find it highly unlikely that the council was unaware of the Grove’s money issues.

Goldberg’s lack of action concerning the Grove’s situation is perplexing. Tasked with analyzing the strength and progress of current enterprises, it is Goldberg’s responsibility to make enterprises a priority for the council, advocate for the interests of the enterprises and work with student employees to improve the businesses. Waiting until March to address the Grove’s budget problems does not seem to further this goal.

Now, the A.S. Council has chosen to pursue a policy of increased publicity and stronger communication between councilmembers and Grove employees. Hopefully, more effective publicity will give the struggling business a much-needed boost; however, the root of the problem seems to stem from a lack of effectual communication between Goldberg’s office and the student employees, which, if their feedback is any indication, leaves the employees basically on their own in the face of a system that obviously is not working. It is time for the council to begin using the enterprise office as it was intended – to support its businesses effectively.