One of the most common concerns as a college student is the disruption of eating habits. Students have the burden of figuring out their daily eating schedules — something made unnecessarily complicated by the predetermined food regimes in dining halls on campus. 

Syracuse University offers five residential dining halls accompanied by on-campus food courts and cafes. With the hectic and diverse schedules that students attend to every day, however, the limited capacities of these on-campus options create a rupture in many students’ eating habits. 

Not all students have the same class schedules. But it seems like most have similar meal times, aligning perfectly to create havoc during breakfast, lunch and dinner. A visit to Schine Dining from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. reveals this chaotic high demand.

The long lines at all the dining locations at Schine (Dunkin’, Panda Express, Tomato Wheel, CoreLife Eatery, Halal Shack and Biscotti Cafe) make it intimidating even to consider eating there. A sophomore on campus, Maria Figueira de Mello Gomes, expressed her frustration with not eating at the food court even though it is the closest place to eat for her during the day. 

“Although Schine has a really good location, right in the middle of all my classes, I eat at Ernie (Davis) because I don’t have time to stay in the lines,” Gomes said. “I feel like I always eat the same meals.”

Gomes is one of many SU students who cannot take advantage of the diverse food options at the Schine Student Center due to limited time slots in between classes and endless lines. Also, some dining locations have reduced hours or are closed due to Food Services staffing shortages. SU has reviewed these concerns and is currently attempting to find possible solutions to reopen cafes closed due to COVID-19 and improve the speed of services, Residential Dining Director Sue Bracy said.

“Open locations may experience longer lines and slower service, as new employees are trained and get up to speed. Food Services is working hard to hire and train the staff necessary to open all of its locations,” Bracy said.

The solution should go beyond training employees to relieve the understaffed locations. SU should focus on opening up more non-dining hall options to distribute the demand and cover the busiest regions of campus. The location of the residential dining halls can sometimes be problematic for students’ schedules since some are on the outskirts of campus and are often a 10+ minute walk from students’ classes. 

The lack of suitable dining options can also lead to irregular eating habits and skipped meals, which can lead to binge eating. SU students shouldn’t have to worry about unhealthy eating habits due to limited food options. The university is responsible for ensuring the health of their students first, but it sounds as though it will be a long time before students see new options. Bracy explained the extensive process of determining what restaurants make it to campus, which includes time to gather student feedback, as well as planning for space considerations, dietary considerations and contract considerations. 

“It depends on many factors. At Schine, the process began with soliciting student feedback, including focus group sessions, pizza parties in residence halls, pop-ups, meetings with student leaders, etc., to hear what students wanted to see on campus,” Bracy said.

As SU makes thought-out decisions for the future of food options, students are currently struggling on a daily basis with the food situation on campus without any short-term solution in sight. Moreover, as SU students planned out their living conditions for the 2021-22 academic year, many realized a change in their meal plans. 

 
SU transitioned from a weekly meal plan that allowed swipes at food courts and cafes to a block or unlimited meal plan, limited to only the residential dining halls, with Dining Dollars and ‘Cuse Cash options for other dining locations. This change led to many students having to rethink their routines to accommodate the financial challenges of this new policy. During the spring 2021 semester, students could use meal swipes at dining locations other than residential dining centers as a pandemic-related effort to reduce density in dining halls. Now, students can only use meal swipes at residential dining centers, though. 

“This fall, as we have returned to normal campus operations, it is no longer necessary to de-densify dining centers, and there is no need for meal swipes to be accepted at other locations,” Bracy said.

But the long lines at Schine demonstrate that there is indeed a need to “de-densify” dining centers, and, according to a popular student petition, there is also a financial need for last year’s practice. Not all SU students can afford to spend money at these on-campus locations, leading to a restrictive food experience based solely on the dining halls.

Students’ grades tend to fall when they have a hard time affording food, a problem that SU should immediately address. To wake up and plan out where to eat in a day is an added stressor for students with an already overloaded schedule. Balancing academics, social life and extracurricular activities can add up to an exhausting day-to-day itinerary, and food should not be a disruption. Food is a source of energy, and it is highly essential for success in an academic setting. If SU wants its students to succeed, it should add more food options to satisfy their needs. 

Karla Perez is a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at ksperezd@syr.edu.

Published on September 26, 2021 at 11:21 pm