A dining hall user believes the facilities on campus cannot function properly given the amount of on-campus students.
When it comes to the dining hall experience on this campus, I’m continually
frustrated. The facilities where you can get your food are not functional, and this causes a lot of wasted time in my opinion.
One major issue that I have found with dining halls is how there is an abundance of students and not enough dining hall space. With the incoming class up 1 percent from last year totaling at 4,423, the amount of students with meal plans is ground breaking. I understand that an increase of enrollment for a university is a positive thing for any college but OU officials did not seem to think about how the increase could affect campus life.
Unfortunately, with an increase of students with a meal plan, the busier the dining halls get. If you try to go to the dining hall at a normal eating hour you have to stand in long lines constantly. To get into the dining hall there is a line, and to get your food there is a line. Then, when you do finally have your food, there is nowhere to even sit and enjoy your meal. I’m pushed to go to the dining hall at odd hours. For example I have to have my lunch at about 11 am, and have my dinner at about 8 p.m.
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With a new dining hall open, I’m sure Ohio University officials thought they have solved the problem of an overflow of students. That really didn’t seem to solve the problem that much though. Boyd Dining Hall got reinvented and reopened its doors for the 2015-16 school year. This modern dining hall looks appealing to the eye but is a war zone during prime eating hours. The way the dining hall is set up was definitely more for looks than for practicality. With no room to form lines at the different buffet-style food options, everything feels cramped. Also there is not enough space to sit down to an odd layout. It seems like designers didn’t think about the practicality of the dining hall and how it would be necessary for students to move around easily and quickly.
A main reason why I have a concern in this matter is because I’m directly
affected. I use dining halls everyday and have a great knowledge of all the flaws they have. I wish someone with authority could try to work through the problems that dining halls face and make it more of an enjoyable experience.
Hannah Reynolds is a sophomore at Ohio University.
