Like children on Christmas, students crowd around the new vending machines outside the cafeteria in awe, letting out cheers of joy as a mechanical arm grabs their drink off the shelf and places it in the vending slot for easy retrieval.

The new vending machines were placed outside the cafeteria on Sept. 27, and for the past few days, students have been rejoicing at their arrival.

The most noticeable positive change they bring is the appearance. The old vending machines were just that: old. They were covered in dust and worn down by years of service. However, the new machines are clean and beautiful, beckoning students to come grab a snack. For example, did the old vending machines have a picture of a man smiling and eating chips watching you while you were buying your snack?

Another perk of the new, more modern machines is that they hopefully will no longer steal students’ money or keep their snacks due to a malfunction. In the past, these may have been caused simply by the ages of the old machines. Having personally lost money to those machines, I would not only hope, but expect, that these new ones eliminate that irritating hassle.

In regard to the drinks inside the vending machines, it is a bit disappointing to see that all soda options are still diet. It is well known that diet sodas can have serious negative effects on students.

Despite this upsetting fact, there are a lot of new and healthy options for both drinks and snacks. New healthy drink choices include a variety of Ocean Spray juices like apple and grape, V8, and Minute Maid juices. New healthy snack choices involve a cashew crunch nut mix and Wheat Thins Veggie Toasted Chips. In addition to healthier options, there is also an overall increase in variety of options.

The final positive of these new vending machines is the electronic appeal that has students talking. The drink vending machines will grab your bottle using a mechanical arm. The arm will then place this bottle in the slot where you can retrieve it, but first the seal of the slot must turn to allow you to access your drink.

As some might say, these new vending machines are food and a show.

Hope Kelly is the Editor in Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.