Outrage or apathy: Students divided over removal of Grubhub robots

In early June, Starship announced it would be removing its Grubhub robots. Shortly after, a campus announcement on Miami University’s webpage confirmed that the robots would no longer be a resource at Miami.

University Dining Services is looking into alternative options for food delivery on campus, according to the webpage.

After seeing the email, Mary Kate Connelly, a sophomore marketing major, said the robot’s removal didn’t affect her at all, but she didn’t anticipate the switch since the robots seemed popular with her friends and with other students.

“I didn’t really care because I never used them, but I knew people that did, so I was kind of surprised, and my parents were surprised too,” Connelly said.

Similarly, Johnny Cavoli, a sophomore strategic communication major, said he wasn’t bothered since he rarely used the Grubhub robots’ services. The only time he did use a robot, the delivery was slow, and Cavoli decided the convenience didn’t outweigh the cost.

Cavoli also said the robots could awkwardly block the road or pathways on the way to classes. Navigating around the robots could be particularly irritating because of how many robots there were on campus.

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“I guess they were kind of a nuisance, because sometimes I would just be walking and they’d come right in front of me, and I had to go around it,” Cavoli said.

Fawziah Odukoya, a sophomore psychology major, found out the robots would not return to campus when her resident director put out a poll asking how residents felt. Odukoya never used the robots herself, but said seeing them around campus always brightened her day.

“I just thought it was cute,” Odukoya said. “It was like it was definitely not an efficient way of delivery because it takes too long.”

Maya Sinden, a fifth-year middle childhood education major, heard the Grubhub robots would not be returning to campus when a friend mentioned it in conversation. Sinden used the robots when she lived on campus, mainly to order food from Panera and Bell Tower Dining Commons.

Sinden said she appreciated the robots because they were very secure, and the food couldn’t be stolen, which is a risk with other delivery services like DoorDash. Sinden also said she felt like their removal from campus mirrored the shift she’s seen across the university during her time at Miami.

“There’s a lot of changes going on within the university,” Sinden said. “Not a lot of things have been permanent throughout my time here.”

mahones5@miamioh.edu