In trial run next week, late meal to start at 8:30 p.m.

Students planning to catch late meal right after the dining hall closes have had to wait an extra hour this year. For some, including Jeffrey Asjes '09 and his roommate, that's meant a major rise in dorm room snacking.

"[We] don't have the patience to wait for an hour for food," Asjes said. Since the time change was implemented, the two roommates have eaten their way through an entire case of Cup Noodles from Costco.

"We're running out quickly," Asjes said. "Our stocks are dwindling."

But Asjes and his roommate may soon get some help. On Oct. 4-5, Dining Services is holding a trial run of the previous late meal plan, which will begin at 8:30 p.m. instead of the current 9 p.m. start.

University officials have said the late meal time was originally pushed back to encourage students to eat dinner in the dining halls, a move intended to promote the four-year college system.

After collecting data from the 8:30 p.m. meal trial, Stu Orefice, director of Dining Services, will reconvene with members of the residential planning committee, including Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel.

"As we learn more about the current modifications to the dining program, we need to gather data in order to make the right decisions for the new four-year college model," Orefice said. "Balancing the meals between the colleges and Frist with the late show program is a priority and we hope this test will provide us with some useful data to make some educated decisions for the future."

The trial is largely a result of Class of 2009 senator Josh Weinstein's collaborative effort with other members of the USG and Dining Services to address students' concerns about changes in the dining contracts that are accompanying the creation of the four-year colleges.

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"The administration does acknowledge that there is a demand for Frist," Weinstein said. "Hopefully, these test times will show that it won't have a huge impact on residential college dining."

"Not only will you have people still eating in the dining halls, but at the same time you will have people who have the ability to go to Frist and swipe their prox for a meal at 8:30," he added.

Students sitting in both levels of Frist last night said that late dinner at 9 p.m. is definitely too late.

"Being an athlete, our practices usually end around eight and that's when we get out and we're starving," Anne Murray '09, a varsity lacrosse player, said. "To have to wait an hour for that and miss the dining hall is not convenient at all."

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Benton Erwin '09, a member of the men's club rugby team, agreed that the time is inconvenient for athletes. "It is actually my number one complaint, because there's that time frame after practice where you just want to get food, but instead you have to wait for an hour. I like to be able to use my meals instead of points at any time of day."

The recent changes to the dining options are a result of the findings of the Task Force on Dining and Social Options in the Four-Year Colleges. In the report, members of the task force wrote that President Tilghman gave them a charge with four key aspects, one of which was to create "a flexible dining environment that supports our aspirations for building community in the residential setting."

"Residential college masters feel that a lot of people are now going to Frist instead of eating in the dining halls and aren't getting the chance to interact, meet and make long-lasting friendships with people in their college," Weinstein said.

Weinstein hopes to show the deans of residential colleges that Frist is "something that really improves the meal contract because it gives students more choice, more convenience and it fills the hours that the dining halls are closed."

The trial is not being held to demonstrate how many people use the Frist dining facilities, but "to see whether there's a big impact on residential college dining," he said.