This past weekend, a mystery illness befell Boston University. And if you read the Daily Free Press, the school’s student-run independent publication, it seemed a gross cafeteria was to blame. Among the " hundreds " of victims suffering from " intense vomiting, fever, body aches and high to extreme dehydration, " the Free Press reported, " many said they ate at The Towers Dining Hall Friday and Saturday. "

Colin Riley, BU’s director of media relations, says that’s not necessarily true. " What we know is that there was an outbreak in that area of Bay State Road, where the Towers residence hall is. It affected a number of students, some of which ate there and some of which didn’t. " Riley denies that there were hundreds of victims — he doesn’t have a better estimate — and he insists that pointing fingers at the dining hall is premature. " There’s a possibility it could be related to food. But nothing, so far, points to dining services in general or to the Towers’ dining room specifically, " he says.

But what stuck out in the Daily Free Press’s report was a quote from freshman Dianna Lawrence describing her experiences there: " I’ve found undercooked meat, mold on the bread, and bugs in my vegetables before. "

Could it really that bad? This past Tuesday, on the same day of the Free Press report, I went to find out. A few undergrads sunning themselves on concrete blocks around Comm Ave said the grub wasn’t terrible. " It isn’t good, " said a West Campus resident with a shell necklace around his neck. " But it isn’t that bad. "

" The food is bad! " later asserted a freshman named Sam who was strumming an acoustic guitar in front of the Towers. If you’re not a Boston University student, you need a student to sign you into the Towers. So Sam offered to admit me. " Do an exposé! " he begged. Then, as a tour group of prospective students and tuition-paying parents strolled by, the Towers resident yelled at them, " Thirty thousand dollars — don’t waste your money! Buy them a car! Buy them four cars! Plus, the food sucks! "

The food there doesn’t suck. In the cafeteria-style dining hall buried in the basement of the Towers dormitory, I found no visible vermin, fungus, or still-mooing meat. The floors were clean, the carpet was swept, and the burritos were hand-assembled and plump, filled with moist chicken and fresh lettuce and tomatoes.

That said, the food isn’t great. The gravy looked like a mud puddle topped with a layer of pudding skin. The pizza was cold, and its sauce had a strange, orange-y flavor. And there was some really scary marinating meat. A staff member said it was roast beef in barbeque sauce, but it smelled like meat loaf.

I asked Marie, an employee scribbling on a clipboard behind the deli meats, what I should avoid. " Wait a minute, " she said, headed into the back room, and then returned. " Okay, it’s all good. " I asked why she had to check in the back. " No reason, " she said with a smile. " It’s all good. "

For the record, I feel fine.