Dining schedule changes increase meal accessibility and convenience

By Thresher Editorial Board     1/14/25 10:13pm

Is giving up weekday breakfast at South and North serveries worth it for an omelette bar and cinnamon rolls? We think so. Even if the new dining schedule is confusing, the changes are a good step towards more food availability on campus, and are a heartening indicator of departments considering student feedback.

Keeping various serveries open from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays is undoubtedly a positive. There’s no worry of having to choose between pushing through that final project or squeezing in lunch before the servery closes. Longer hours also increase accessibility for students with classes at the Biosciences Research Collaborative building, long labs during mealtimes or other commitments during the previous meal schedule.

Additionally, we finally have the long asked-for late dining option. For students used to eating dinner at 8 or 9 p.m., rejoice — a later servery close means both being able to eat and a better chance at fresh food late in the evening. This is especially helpful during Fridays and weekends, when the Hoot is closed and students typically have later nights.

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More broadly, we are glad to see H&D’s efforts to act on student feedback. H&D has been proactive in soliciting feedback, with a Google Form to submit suggestions available on their website and selecting student H&D representatives at each college to gather opinions. Many of the changes to dining, such as the Munch meal between 2-4 p.m., offering culturally-inspired food at each servery and semesterly changes to the dining schedule have been in response to student opinions. To be fair, the new dining schedule isn’t perfect. The inconsistency of servery hours makes the schedule difficult to remember, and no one wants to walk further than their residential college for breakfast, especially in the cold weather spell we’ve been having. While frustrating, we encourage students to remember that the new changes are a net positive, and represent a promising step forward for H&D’s solicitation of student voices. 

On the flip side, we also hope that H&D keeps up this trend, hearing out feedback as students adjust to the new schedule, making improvements or compromises as needed. We recognize the staffing and resource barriers that prevent 24/7 dining — and we don’t believe that’s a burden H&D should carry — but hope students and administration can continue to find reasonable middle grounds.

Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Riya Misra, Spring Chenjp, Maria Morkas, Sarah Knowlton, Sammy Baek, Shruti Patankar, Juliana Lightsey, Arman Saxena and Kathleen Ortiz.

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