The Stav panini presses have a special place in my heart. I put a lot of work into creating my daily sandwich. Without the panini presses, my Stav sandwiches would be nothing. Sadly, panini press etiquette seems to be lost on most St. Olaf students. It’s not uncommon to open the panini press to find a giant mess. How difficult is it to refrain from using sauce and to clean up after yourself if you have a particularly messy press? The directions are posted right next to the panini press. But my biggest panini press pet peeve is meat on the vegetarian panini press.

People don’t eat meat for many reasons, whether that be health, religion, or allergies. As for me, I have been a vegetarian since I was 10. I had a lot of opinions on animals when I was younger — blame “Wild Kratts.” You can imagine my horror when I opened the panini press to get my beautifully crafted bagel sandwich and a giant turkey sub was sitting right next to it. A piece of turkey had fallen off the sub and was touching my sandwich. I was horrified. My sandwich, which was a work of art, was ruined. I almost cried.

This wasn’t the first time my sandwiches had encountered meat on the press, and every time, it ruins my day. I don’t know if people can’t read the sign that reads, “Do not use meat,” in large letters, or if they just don’t care, but it does affect us vegetarians. My friends are probably tired of hearing me complain about the panini press, but I can’t help it because this issue means so much to me.

In conclusion, please be considerate of your meatless friends. We struggle as it is to find good Stav food options. The veggie panini press is all we got.