THE DISMAL WEEKEND FOOD SITUATION

But no.

Instead, we must trek halfway across campus to Commons in the dead of the 10 degree CNY winter in order to get… a bowl of rice and soy sauce, which might not even be there. After all, the entire campus is now relegated to one dining hall.

As a senior, I have experienced all too many Saturday night Commons dinners, and even more Sunday morning brunches. All you want is something delicious. The weekend is the one time when I can say I enter the dining hall with all inhibitions knocked down: I have no intention of eating a healthy meal. I just want food. That being said, I don’t want the weird meatloaf, or the three-day old marinara sauce now attempting, and failing, to pass as Tomato Basil soup, located mere feet from where it was perched at Wednesday night’s dinner. I don’t just want a bowl of rice, and I certainly don’t want a bowl of spinach.

As for breakfast, once the bagel supply has been depleted, the desserts have been picked over, and the omelette man has retired his spatula for the day, I try to avoid Commons on the weekends at all costs. I go off campus, I cook myself meals, and I attend opus brunch. Luckily these other options exist on and off campus, but meals over the weekend are the times when I want to relax with friends and enjoy good food more than any other day of the stressful work week. Plus, not everyone has the opportunity to cook their own food or venture off campus for a meal. So: what can the school do to improve the dismal weekend dining hall situation? Here are a few ideas.

Open McEwen on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9-to 12. I recognize that the school must be mindful of workers and expenses, but opening McEwen for even three hours each day of the weekend would astronomically improve the food options over the weekend. A lot of people, myself included, would be thankful.

Shorten the brunch hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings. When people come into Commons at 2pm, they are often no longer looking for waffles and scrambled eggs, but instead are hoping to see more lunch options. Sometimes this weird middle-ground between meal times creates disappointment in the dining hall food options. Brunch should not last past 1pm at the latest.

Provide more and healthier options. On a Sunday afternoon, there is little available to students other than pizza, desserts, cereal, toast, oatmeal, and goldfish. In fact, there is not much of anything at all. Fresh fruit would drastically improve the dining hall scene, as well as avocadoes, and other small but significant additions to the dining options.

11 Though these suggestions are minimal, and certainly do not solve every problem that faces our weekend dining situation, they would, in my opinion, certainly improve the now-dreadful prospect of stepping foot in Commons on a Sunday. That being said, we are grateful for the Bon Appetit workers who spend their weekends serving us food, and I will never complain about the weekend tater tots. Long live Commons’ tater tots. opinion|10