Colleges to add dining options

Rebecca Legett '08, an engineer and member of Colonial Club, treks back and forth from the E-quad to the Street every day to take her meals. Next year, though, she may eat some meals on the main part of campus as a result of a new policy allowing upperclassmen to dine in the residential colleges.

All upperclassmen will receive two free meals per week in the residential college dining halls, regardless of whether or not they purchase a dining hall meal plan. Upperclassmen who stay in the new four-year residential colleges will have these two meals built into their dining contracts, which require them to purchase at least a 95-block meal plan.

The new policy comes as part of the extensive changes that will affect the residential college system next year when the four-year colleges take effect. "The two extra meals came out of a number of conversations and committees that thought about the residential college," University Executive Vice President Mark Burstein said.

Burstein noted that students, faculty and staff were all involved in the reports that led to the administration's decision to give upperclassmen two free meals per week. He said that this policy is a response to "[student] interest in staying connected to the four-year residential college system" without the commitment of living in the residential college.

He added that the free meals are intended to foster more interaction between upperclassmen and underclassmen, saying that they could "potentially increase the connection" between the students.

Student response to the policy has been generally positive.

"I'm in favor of it because if there's bad weather, it might be easier to stay here than trek over to Prospect," said Matthew Isakowitz '09, who will be leaving his residential college next year. "It also might be nice to eat with underclass friends."

"Every upperclassman I know is very excited about it," said Julia Schwartz '08. "Walking out to the Street before 9 a.m. class to eat breakfast is not something many juniors and seniors are thrilled to do, so people like the idea of having a few dining hall meals each week."

Legett agreed, saying that the two meals "could be useful just because the dining halls and eating clubs are on opposite ends of the campus."

She added, though, that she is unsure if all of her peers will take advantage of the free meals "because they'd rather eat at their club." In part, she said, this is because of the disparity in food quality between the clubs and the residential colleges.

Dining Services Director Stu Orefice responded to such student concerns by noting that the dining halls will undergo significant changes and improvements next year.

"The marketplace concept that you will see at Whitman, Rockefeller and Mathey will be something that students will enjoy tremendously," he said. New services will include a brick pizza oven and menus differing from college to college, improvements that Orefice called "extremely attractive to students."

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While upperclassmen not living in the residential colleges will all get the two meals per week to use at their discretion, the situation is more complicated for residential college advisors and people wishing to live in the colleges while taking some of their meals at eating clubs.

RCAs will only be able to eat in the dining halls of their affiliated college and its paired two-year or four-year college, whereas they can currently take meals at any of the colleges or at Frist's late meal.

This change has upset some RCAs, who say they can interact with advisees better by being able to eat wherever they can, and a petition has been circulating among RCAs protesting the restrictions.

Meanwhile, for students wishing to live in the colleges and belong to eating clubs, the situation remains ambiguous. The eating clubs and administration have been working to create shared meal plans allowing students to take meals in both venues, but the plans are not entirely finalized, despite months of talks.

The number of shared plans available and the distribution of meals between college and club will vary among the eating clubs. Charter Club president Will Scharf '08 said that members who purchase a 95-block plan from their college "would get 95 fewer meals a semester at Charter."

Colonial Club president Tommy Curry '08 said that members who purchase shared meal plans "will be able to split their meals between the club and the dining hall as they see fit."

The clubs have not yet released official information on how many members will be entitled to the shared plans. Curry said that Colonial will offer the plans to 15 juniors and 15 seniors. Quadrangle Club president Scott Syverson '08 said that Quad will offer 10 juniors and 10 seniors the plans.

Burstein maintained that there would be enough meal plans for upperclassmen staying in the colleges while remaining in eating clubs next year, saying that "there are many shared meal plans available across the 10 clubs."

He said the variety of options available for next year is intended to give upperclassmen a greater degree of choice.

"A shared meal plan is a choice, a residential college is a choice, full club membership and upperclass housing is a choice," Burstein said. "We'll find out next year how students decide to use the various different options that are available to them and what that will mean to the junior and senior experience at Princeton."