In 2006, Western Carolina University purchased 344 acres adjacent to the campus for the Millennial Initiative Town Center economic development plan. They hoped a developer would build under a land-lease agreement. Normally, these meccas of New Urbanism rely on chain stores with a loyal following to attract a viable volume of patrons.

In recent news, the thought of a chain store near campus caused an uprising in the English Department, culminating in a signed article in the faculty newsletter. A Starbucks or Barnes & Noble, cried they, would harm the local economy, thus violating the university’s mission.

Assistant Professor Catherine Carter challenged, “The businesses in question can be expected to attempt to undersell local businesses, to hire cheaper and less qualified labor to provide the bare minimum of service, to offer a standardized range of selections, and to waste maximum resources while doing so.” Local business owners have “taken voice” against the competition also. They are often marginalized by escalated costs per square foot in planned communities.

Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Jon Ostendorff observed that the university was already host to a chain, and a monopoly at that. WCU contracts with the international food chain Aramark. Aramark, in turn, subcontracts with other chains like Einstein Bros. Bagels. It is difficult for local businesses to compete against franchises for Aramark contracts.

To maintain Aramark’s competitive edge, WCU issues student bank cards. These can be used for buying books, photocopying, laundry – and buying food at Aramark-owned franchises. Local business owners, on behalf of the local farmer, want the university to allow local proprietorships to accept the student bank cards. By the terms of the Aramark contract, however, local merchants would have to pay Aramark first. Further, the state attorney general has ruled it illegal for the cards to be used off-campus. It would put the university in the banking business and give local businesses access to state accounts to convert debt into cash.