SURVIVING THE UNION

NATHAN ENGLISH Opinion Editor @nathan_3nglish

The first floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union is the culinary capital of Northwest. Each day, hundreds upon hundreds of Bearcats pile in to get their daily sustenance or, as my friend Kyle says, “grab some grub.” If you are one such Bearcat that has a meal plan or swipes and is going to be eating at the Union a lot, I have a few tips that will enhance your enjoyment of the Union dining experience.

Don’t go at noon

If I worked in the dining center, I would refer to noon on weekdays as the witching hour. I imagine that all staff dreads this moment as seemingly every person that has ever been a student at Northwest has all decided to go eat at that one time.

Lines are impossibly long for such a small college, food is hard to come by (which isn’t ideal in a dining hall), and there are absolutely no open seats.

Many people end up eating like the outcast kid in a teen movie, standing or sitting on the far end of an already occupied table. Do yourself a favor

ANDREW WEGLEY | NW MISSOURIAN International student Euler Possamai eats at the Bearcat Commons, on the bottom fl oor of the J.W. Jones Student Union, near the beginning of the dinner shift March 16. and avoid eating at noon; your stomach and stress level will be better for it.

Switch up your meals

The dining hall can seem like a cornucopia of options at fi rst glance, and it is, for a while. The issue is that if you are staying on campus and eating three meals a day in the Union, then it’s going to get old quick (it’s impossible not to). So, switch up what you are eating rather frequently, especially in the beginning, so you don’t grow tired of your favorite foods early into the semester.

Eat fruits and vegetables I know, I know, I sound like your mom — you should call her more; she misses you — but moms are right a lot of the time. The worst thing you can do to yourself when your sleep schedule is probably screwed up, you have mounting stress, and maybe you partied too much, is to not eat semi-healthy. Without proper nutrition from fruits and vegetables, it’s easy to get sick, and being sick in college, especially in the dorms, is the worst. Listen to moms and you won’t be trying to push through a week of tests and homework fighting the flu because you had chicken nuggets and fries for eight days in a row and never ate a green thing.

Rapid Fire Tip Round

Use your meal exchange every week. Sit in the Mongolian section for studying; it’s quieter. Don’t forget about the omelet station; it’s in the Mongolian section. Always get the hash browns; they are delicious.

Follow these tips and it’s possible you won’t grow tired of the Union nearly as early as your fellow Bearcats.