Changes to dining halls not enough: A call for more improvements to help La Salle students on the go

By Julie Gwiszcz
Collegian Reporter
October 11, 2006

Let’s face it, college life is demanding enough for the typical full-time student balancing an intense course load. Now throw in organizational meetings, work, family obligations, recreational activities and social outings and our days are jam-packed.

If you’re anything like me, you run from one appointment to the next, barely able to fit in a few good hours of sleep, let alone indulge in a relaxing meal. Most of us who are inundated with endless obligations rely on the modern day grab-and-go method of eating, regretfully unable to enjoy a nice, leisurely meal in the dining halls.

Unfortunately, if we want to grab a quick bite on the go, we’re forced to turn either to the Union or take-out food and dig into our already empty pockets for some spare change to pay for a meal we could have gotten without additional cost in the dining hall. It seems to me like those pricey meal plans that many underclassmen residents are forced to pay for often go to waste because students don’t always have the time to eat in the dining hall before it closes.

One would think that for a fee of up to $2,590 for seven-day unlimited meal plan, there would be an option for students to carry food out of the dining halls. I understand La Salle wants to encourage a sense of community and interaction, but I don’t think it’s fair students have to pay extra money they don’t have because there just wasn’t enough time to sit down to a meal that was already paid for perhaps three times over. Sure, it boosts sales in the food court, but I guarantee people would not stop eating there even if take-out trays became a reality in the dining halls. It would only give those of us who don’t have the extra cash to get what we are already paying for in our nearly $30,000 a year education, not to mention allowing all of us to save up on funds for when those hefty loan payments start creeping up on us after graduation.

With multi-tasking an established norm in today’s society, the demand for more convenient access to fast food is greater than ever. Who knows, allowing the option of take out from the dining halls as a part of a student’s meal plan might actually make the B&G and Treetops more appealing and productive, especially to those late-night eaters who are forced to order out instead.

I, for one, would get far more use out of my meal plan if I had the ability to carry out. I often find myself squeezing food in between homework, classes, meetings and whatever else is thrown on my plate that day. As a result, I rarely get the opportunity to relax and enjoy a carefree meal until after the dining hall has closed, or in the middle of class or a meeting. Rather than paying extra money to purchase my food elsewhere, I’d much rather heat up something I snagged from the dining hall earlier that day. I’m sure my fellow students would share the same desire to save what little money we have.

Now, I must give La Salle props for their valid attempts to make getting food more convenient after dining hall hours by instituting the new delivery service through Treetops and keeping Café Metro open late. However, once again these seemingly generous and good-hearted intentions are tainted by a demand for more money. Any student who doesn’t have funds on their Gold Card is exempt from taking advantage of the new delivery service. Likewise, Café Metro is a nice restaurant-like alternative, but yet again, meal plans themselves are no good there – only special food account money.

No wonder local take-out venues flood the entrances to the resident halls with their menus. They know how college students function and they’re ready and waiting to cater to the hungry, overburdened 20-year-old who needs nourishment to get him through a night of papers and studying. If paying the costs of take-out trays is too great, then at least let us bring our own containers in to carry out. It would sure leave the tray return station a hell-of-a-lot cleaner, and it would save on a lot of wasted food.

Teachers talk about how skipping class is a waste of money; well, this is the same thing. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying either give us a chance to get what we pay for in the dining halls, or add the Union as an option to cash in our meal plans.

gwiszczj1@lasalle.edu