Why is it that on a campus full of activity all year around, so many food options shut down before most students have even finished their day or not even open when students are still on campus? Many students have labs and classes that end after Commons has already closed, and many others want to eat dinner after 7:00 or 8:00 pm on the weekends. While Hawks Nest is open until late on the weekends or weekdays, it still doesn’t accommodate freshmen or students with smaller meal plans as an option to eat because of the limited amount of dining dollars and lack of meal equivalency. Not to mention, many of the underclassmen live in the dorms or Regents where there is not a kitchen available for them to make their meals.
This also raises the issue of not having access to transportation to get to the grocery store for food. Parking on campus is expensive, and many parents either don’t want their kids to have a car on campus or just don’t own one. However, when Commons closes before students have the chance to eat, they need to be able to go to the store to get food, but this is not an option for everyone. This is another reason why there needs to be reliable food options on campus until all students are finished with their classes, so no one must stress about finding a meal.
In addition, hundreds of student-athletes on campus either come early for pre-season or stay after the semester is over to compete in post-season championship competitions. However, Commons, Hawks Nest, and Konover only open once everyone is on campus and close when most students have already left, forcing students to cook for themselves or rely on coaches to order food. This is also a big issue over the summer. Many students must stay on campus during the summer for classes or clinicals, but the Gengras Student Union is the only place open. Regardless, it is still only open until 2 p.m., when most students are still in class or at clinical.
In my opinion, this is not fair for students who are highly affected by the lack of food options around campus during certain times. The current system forces students to stress about finding alternative options or preparing their meals. Overall, there needs to be more flexible and reliable options to guarantee that everyone has access to food, no matter what their schedule is.
