We are all thinking it, so let’s just say it. Southern Pressed Juicery needs to go. It was a valiant effort, but now it’s time to throw in the towel and move on to something else.

Over the summer, Furman replaced the salad bar in the PDen with Southern Pressed Juicery, a branch of the original juicery located in downtown Greenville.

At first, this seemed like a great idea. Most students never used the salad bar that Southern Pressed Juicery replaced since the salads it sold were essentially the equivalent of the salads you could get from the dining hall. The only real difference between the PDen’s salad bar and the dining hall’s was that the PDen salad took food points, or “Palapoints,” which made it more economic for students to go to the dining hall if they wanted a salad and also wanted to save their Palapoints.

As a result, the idea of replacing the salad bar was a great one because it was just taking up space. Furthermore, it was a good idea to replace one of the healthy dining options on campus with a different healthy option instead of a fast food restaurant, as we already have a Chick-fil-a and Moe’s.

Instead, Southern Pressed Juicery offers its “100 percent organic, raw, cold-pressed juice made from the freshest fruits and vegetables.”

Additionally, according to its website, “a juice cleanse (or juicing) is the right way to kick start getting your body and mind into a more healthy and balanced state. In the absence of fiber and complex foods, your body has an enhanced ability to absorb the high dose of positive nutritional content found in vegetable and fruit juices.”

 The raw component of its juices means they are uncooked, unpasteurized and organic. Southern Pressed Juicery says the benefit is that “when eating these things raw, your food maintains its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, protein, essential fats and fiber” and that “including raw foods in your diet can offer you many benefits that increase your quality of life, including weight loss, more energy, clear skin, improved digestion and improved overall health.”

As a result, Southern Pressed Juicery is great for students who wanted better healthy options on campus, and obviously, there are great potential benefits from its juices. Plus, cleanses have become quite trendy and popular right now, mostly because of their health benefits.

“Cleansing (or juicing) gives your digestive system a break from the often processed and complex foods that modern life exposes us to. The restricted diet is a good way to reduce overeating tendencies that modern portion sizes can encourage. Cleansing can break bad eating habits and gives you a platform for ongoing awareness of what you are choosing to eat,” Southern Pressed Juicery explains on their website.

However, the problem is not with changing the salad bar or choosing a healthy option, but with Southern Pressed Juicery itself. Students simply do not like it as much as expected.

While cleansing is trendy and healthy, it is not fun, and it does not taste good. The juices I tried were hard to stomach and the ingredients in the energy bowls tended to be strange and unappetizing.

The food at Southern Pressed Juicery is also expensive, especially for a student on a budget—even if it is a Palapoints budget.

If you look at the freshman meal plan, 300 Palapoints are given each semester, which is about 15 weeks long including exams. If you do the math, that means each week they have 20 Palapoints to spend. Most of their 16 oz juices average around 10 Palapoints. Even if you only drink one a week, this means half the points a student has is going to one drink.

Because of the expense and taste, Southern Pressed Juicery has become impractical and overrated. The idea of change was a good one, but clearly this is not working for the students despite how healthy and innovative it may seem. If students aren’t utilizing it, it isn’t worth it. Besides, the people who would actually do the cleanses will probably be willing to make the drive downtown to Southern Pressed Juicery.

Hopefully this summer, Furman can try to find a healthy alternative for Southern Pressed Juicery that is more practical, affordable and something that students actually want to eat.