EDITORIAL: Give Campus Dining a break
In a page three article in today's paper, some students express concerns about campus dining hours.
Those students said it's nearly impossible for them to grab something to eat in the dining halls because their classes run until 9 p.m. or later, and the dining halls are closed when they get out of class.
True, it's annoying that the residential restaurants close before your class ends, but that doesn't mean you're going to be left to starve.
With some classes extending into the evening hours, and students knowing that will be a problem in terms of catching the dining halls before they close, students simply need to take some extra efforts to ensure they get dinner before classes.
In 2011, Campus Dining made extensive efforts to ensure that students are as well accommodated as possible. Although dinner hours end at 7:30 p.m., some restaurants stay open until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday with a late-night menu.
Even though full dinner options aren’t available, cheeseburgers, salad, pizza and other menu options are still served, which is enough for almost any hungry college student to get their fill.
To allow students to get the most for their money, dining halls also moved dinner hours to as early as 4 p.m. so students can eat before their evening classes.
Despite the accommodations, just in case students are not able to make it into the residence halls to grab a meal, Campus Dining also offers Meals 2 Go, which provides order forms for those too busy to come in and get the food themselves.
Outside of the restaurants, students still have the opportunity to get snacks and small meals at C3 Express, Down Under Food Court, Einstein Bagels, Market, Northside Market, P.O.D. Express, Goodies to Go, Java City, Starbucks, Trackside and Tidbits, some of which are open as late as 2 a.m.
All dining options also allow students to spend Flex Dollars and convenience stores often extend their hours well past the standard dining hall times.
With multiple places to go for each meal, students should be focusing more on their time management skills if they are not able to make it into the residential restaurants – because the options are there.
Even going so far as making a sandwich after lunch and saving it for after class or buying a few snack foods at the grocery store each week can go a long way.
What won't solve the problem, though, is complaining that you're hungry when there are multiple remedies.
So hats off to you, Campus Dining. It's impossible to please everyone, especially when it comes to food, but you have made it almost as easy as possible for students to get something to eat without demanding too much out of student workers.
