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E-PrinceGael Greene once said, “Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want.” Though I’m sure the sex part is relevant somewhere on campus, only the reverse of the food part is applicable here ...(back to the article)
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[“Uh, I don’t really eat in the dining hall anymore,” one girl told me after surreptitiously glancing around. “It’s not like the food is super bad or anything — I just don’t like it.”]
So true. I feel exactly the same way. Great article. Finally, we have somebody writing about an issue that isn't grade deflation.
wow freshman, chill out. flip side: lots of my friends at other schools complain about a la carte, saying they would kill to eat unlimited quantities of food at the same price.
I second Going Independent. Way to bring up a legitimate issue!
Sorry to burst your bubble but those people don't want to eat unlimited amounts of DINING HALL food ... they want to eat the unlimited cafe items or smoothies. At these other schools, they pay a la carte but they get to eat anywhere on campus. At princeton, the only thing we get "unlimited" is dhall food - not even Frist is unlimited. So I wouldn't be too quick to say "chill out" ... this is a real issue and Princeton would do well to change their system.
And although I realize Dartmouth's completely free choice system is great, it might be more logical for Princeton to start by just having a mixed meal plan with some mandatory swipes at the d-hall and some "paw points" already included per week in your plan. That's somewhat like Duke I think.
I agree with wmf - the ability to eat unlimited quantities at the same price is underappreciated, as is the quality of the food at the dining halls.
This is an annual debate at Princeton that in my experience divides along class lines. Wealthier students accustomed to eating at restaurants and who have never had to pay for their own food agree with this author, whereas less well-off students appreciate the quality, quantity, and diversity of the dining hall's offerings.
@2007 - Maybe things were different in 2006, but the current quality of the food at the dining halls is pretty abysmal.
GREAT ARTICLE! I totally agree and hope the school does something about it for next year...
Actually, the quality of dining hall food is much, much better right now than it was before the construction of Whitman and the renovation of Rockefeller/Mathey were completed at the beginning of 2007-08. That said, I do agree that the dining halls could do better. I now teach at a high school whose cafeteria puts out substantially better food at lower cost, and I have been wondering how it is that they do it all year long.
Ultimately, though, the solution to the dining hall quality problem is going to have to come through improving the food, not through increasing flexibility. The university has a strong incentive not to do the latter -- it wants to encourage a sense of community by making sure freshmen and sophomores eat in their college dining halls most of the time. Irritating, perhaps, but unlikely to be changed any time soon.
I actually enjoy the dining hall food, even though I am used to high-quality food at home. I like being able to go to the dining halls and get a little bit of everything that I want. The fact that you can control your own portion sizes is a huge benefit, both for people who eat more than the average and for people who eat less than the average. I've visited other schools where you have to get specific items, and you'd be surprised at the hassle you have to go to in order to get, for example, a hamburger AND a salad. I agree with some previous comments that some dining dollars as a part of the meal plan would be nice, but as it is I find the meal plan more than adequate right now. Each dining hall serves different meals on a given day, and they each serve a fairly wide variety of food. On Saturday evenings, do I sometimes look around and say "well I guess it's a pizza night"? Yes, of course. But overall I think we should appreciate the food we have here. The quality and variety are, overall, quite good, and the dining services staff could not be more friendly or accommodating.
I got into both Princeton and Dartmouth, and one of the biggest factors in my coming here was that we had a meal plan. With a la carte I was certain I would never eat both salad and an entree.