he most recent Dartmouth Free Press article ideas blitz was painful to read. “Quizno’s Closed,” read one article proposal. “Does anyone care? Did anyone go there, ever?”

I went there! I care!

Inexpensive dining options are rare in Hanover. Just a few months ago, there were Quizno’s, Subway, Boloco, and the specials at EBAs to choose from. For a guy on the off-campus meal plan, losing any one of these options hurts, and now we’ve lost two. With DDS prices being what they are, everyone should feel the pinch of a cheap lunch spot that’s suddenly and irreplaceably lost.

I went to Quizno’s only once or twice a month, usually with the same friend. The service was a little slow, true, but the sandwiches were good, especially the hot ones. Plus, my dad likes Quizno’s, so it was a nice reminder of home.

I didn’t know the owners of the place, but friends who went to church with them say they’re nice folks. That certainly doesn’t jive with the way The D presented things, giving the restaurant’s former landlord lots of column space to criticize the way both Quizno’s and the now-defunct Carpaccio’s were run. (Really, buddy? These families lose their businesses and you feel compelled to insult them publicly? You didn’t think the loss of their income was enough for them? Nice, pal. Real nice.)

But none of that is why I care about the loss of Quizno’s. Forget the lack of lunch alternatives; forget the D drama. My real problem is this:

What does it say about our town that a full third of its chain stores are the Gap?

Now, I’ve got nothing against the Gap, but it isn’t exactly Target. Middle America does not do its shopping at the Gap. We all know, of course, that Hanover is not middle America, but I don’t think we’re conscious enough of that fact. A former priest of mine once told me that privilege is not a life of luxury; privilege is merely having the option to opt out of the struggle. Children with distended bellies in the Mississippi Delta were stuck in this struggle, but the Freedom Riders who fought for their parents’ right to vote could have turned around and gone home at any point. That’s privilege.

In the’60s, the Hanover Bubble was an information bubble—as rural as this place may be today, it was even more so before cable news and the Internet. Today, we view it as more of a cultural bubble, with the shops and concert venues of Boston so far away. I agree that the bubble exists, but would implore students to view it as something far more important than a simple limit on our entertainment. The Dartmouth Bubble is one of socio-economics. Living in a town of scholars and retirees, where the college’s food workers are (properly) paid a full living wage with benefits, and where fully half the College’s students manage to make ends meet without financial aid, we easily forget the way most of America lives. The median household income in this country is roughly $50,000, and only a quarter of the population have passports. We all know that life at Dartmouth is privileged and set apart, but I think we sometimes lose sight of how much that is true. That is the real Hanover Bubble.

So please, the next time you’re paying $7 for a Food Court hamburger—or, for that matter, $30 for dinner at the Inn, remember how darn lucky you are, and think about how you can give thanks. In the meantime, I’ll be missing Quizno’s.