When the fall term began last Monday, a group of hungry students headed over to Tech Street for a taste of their favorite food vendors on campus: the Food Trucks. When they arrived, however, they discovered that the trucks had been moved and now reside on Margaret Morrison Street.

Rumors and accusations about the reason for the move spread quickly through the Carnegie Mellon campus. Some students believed that the city of Pittsburgh made the final decision to relocate the trucks, while others say that it was the University that was responsible for the move. Students such as William Drewery, a TSB senior, felt that the move "was to beautify the area around the Posner Center." Still others claim that the trucks were moved because they took business away from Ginger's Deli, the eatery inside the Posner Center, and that the competition was too much.

Yet the real reason for the move did not have to do with the appearance of the trucks or competition with Ginger's, but rather with issues with the Tech Street location. In an official e-mail sent to the student body, the University stated that "this new location, less than two minutes from the old site, resolves long-standing concerns about the proximity to the entrance to the academic buildings and the congestion at the Tech - Margaret Morrison intersection." The e-mail also mentioned that "vendors were notified about this planned move in early July, prior to approval by the Pittsburgh City Council," thus showing that both the University and the city played a part in the final decision. Associate Vice President Michael Murphy was unavailable for comment.

Opinions about the move have quickly circulated through both through the internet and around the campus. Online, message boards have filled with arguments both for and against the move. Some students posted on misc.market that they are happy with the move because they feel that the trucks are an eyesore. Having them located closer to the dorms and farther away from Posner and other academic buildings means that people can walk to class without having to see the trucks. On the other hand, some students are outraged because they fear that the trucks will now be too far away for them to eat there.

"I think that [the move is] really dumb," said CFA freshman Chris Rose. "If people have class in Tepper, they're going to eat where they have class, not where they live."

The owners of the trucks are not happy about the move. Starting weeks before the move, they posted letters on their trucks explaining the situation and asking for support so that they could stay on Tech Street. They also hung homemade signs to draw attention to their cause, sporting slogans such as, "Please don't kill our business!" The trucks have been located on Tech Street for over twenty years and the owners fear that the new location will be the end of their businesses.

"I've been to the trucks at least four times since they moved and the lines are much shorter," explained Drewery.

Some students, such as MCS sophomore Avery Dulles-Coelho, feel that, while the move is not a huge deal, it is an inconvenience.

"I'll probably continue to go there," said Dulles-Coelho. "It is a hassle, though."

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