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In the interest of full disclosure, let me start this column by saying just how much I love Taco Bell. Ever since the fast food Mexican chain opened a franchise in my suburban New Jersey town in the early 1990s, I have had an obsession with its food.

I have eaten Taco Bell for breakfast, lunch and dinner (though not all in the same day.) When I was in high school, I unsuccessfully attempted to eat my age, 17, in tacos.

My friends would tell me rumors about the quality of the food -- one told me that Taco Bell's ground beef was a combination of horse and camel meat. But that has never fazed me. I salivate when I hear the words gordita and chalupa.

So one can imagine the great joy I felt when I heard that my favorite eatery was coming to Penn's campus. Ever since I have arrived at this school, I have encountered literally hundreds of students who yearn for a Taco Bell.

And I am sure that you can also imagine how I felt when I heard that several groups on campus were protesting the opening of the Taco Bell. I had heard of such protests before. There has been much debate over the eatery's decision to purchase some of its tomatoes from Six L's Packing Company in Immokalee, Fla. The controversy surrounds the treatment of migrant workers, who at best are underpaid and at worst are the victims of serious human rights violations.

Taco Bell claims that many of its restaurants do not even purchase tomatoes from Six L's. They say that they have very little clout in changing the policies of the tomato packing company, as the eatery purchases less than 1 percent of the 360 million pounds of tomatoes Six L's produces annually.

The fast food chain also argues that they have not turned a blind eye to the Immokalee workers. They have updated their supplier code of conduct and proposed a universal Florida tomato surcharge.

But instead of debating whether or not Taco Bell could do more to help workers, I would rather discuss efforts to keep the eatery off of Penn's campus by those who claim that it is an endorsement of worker exploitation by the University.

This seems ludicrous. The arrival of Taco Bell to campus is a direct result of student demand. This is rare on Penn's campus. Normally the University thrusts frivolous retail upon the students. How many of us called for an Ann Taylor Loft or yet another CVS? But students and administrators alike will tell you that, were it not for the requests of countless students, Taco Bell may never have come to Penn.

And despite any protests, Taco Bell will be enormously successful on this campus. There are very few places to get a quick, cheap bite to eat, and even fewer on the east end of campus. Students just don't care about where their food comes from. Hardly anyone stops to think about who picked the tomato on their taco or which cow became the meat in their cheesesteak. This is simply a fact of life. Most people -- especially college students -- vote on a place to eat with their taste buds and pocketbooks.

For people who care about these issues, there are many other places on campus to eat. Want a more humane taco? Go to Qdoba, MexiCali or Taco Pal.

However, just because some people don't like Taco Bell doesn't mean that it shouldn't be allowed on campus. I have an objection to some of the independent bookstores on campus which overcharge students and make it hard to return books. But I don't lobby Penn to get rid of them. Instead, I get my books elsewhere.

Also, if Taco Bell opponents feel they have a convincing argument, they have nothing to worry about. If the large majority of students agree with them, then Taco Bell will not get enough business to survive in the Moravian Cafes. What better way to stick it to the company than for it to open a restaurant only to see it go belly up? But I doubt that will be the case.

Penn students have spoken loud and clear. They want Taco Bell, and the University has answered their call. It is not endorsing the eatery, as Boise State did by naming its basketball arena after the fast food giant. Rather, Taco Bell will be a paying tenant just like every other store on campus. It is now up to all the students to decide the fate of the eatery, not just a select few.

David Burrick is a junior urban studies major from Short Hills, N.J., and executive editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Camp David appears on alternate Thursdays.

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