Wilson students dine 'en plein air' during renovations

These students are being accommodated by other residential college dining halls until Monday, when a tent set up in the Dodge-Osborne courtyard will open as a temporary replacement for Wilcox. In addition, the Wilson College office will be temporarily housed in Whitman College.

Butler residents eating in Wu Hall have also been affected by the renovations. “The servery is available for Wu, but the kitchen is not,” Director of Dining Services Stu Orefice said in an interview, explaining that some food items will be brought from Whitman College to serve students in Wu.

As a result of these delays, upperclassmen will not be able to start using their two meals per week in residential college dining halls until Sept. 29, when Wilcox is expected to reopen, Orefice said.

In late August, Wilson residents received a letter from Wilson Master Marguerite Browning and a statement issued by the Facilities Department delineating the change in schedule and the alternative arrangements made to accommodate them.

The renovation of Wilcox is part of a larger project to provide Wilson and Butler colleges with upgraded dining facilities, which began with renovation of college offices last summer. It was not until last spring, however, that construction on the majority of Wilcox began in earnest.

But problems first arose when parts of the old Wilcox Hall structure were demolished and the project’s engineers and architects discovered “numerous unanticipated conditions,” according to the Facilities statement.

Deputy Director of Facilities Sean Joyner said in an interview that after the demolition of Wilcox, “the conditions were very different than expected,” to such an extent that the architects and engineers had to “reconsider certain aspects of the design in order to work around” these conditions.

He added that “there were no structural deficiencies” with the building.

Facilities General Manager for Services Chad Klaus described the project as “ambitious,” so much so that it will require two summers to complete.

“This summer was mostly infrastructure work,” he said. “The actual aesthetic change will happen this coming summer.”

Temporary arrangements

Students can start eating in the tent Sept. 13, since an earlier opening would have interfered with move-in. Dinner and study breaks will be served in the tent, with breakfast and lunch served in Wu only.

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Browning described the tent as “very fancy,” featuring amenities such as sound and lighting capabilities. She added that the tent will remain open under light rain but not in the event of thunder.

“I think it’s going to be a very special experience,” she said, adding that a series of special dinners has already been planned for the tent.

Klaus said that the University was “[overcompensating] for the lack of physical facilities,” explaining that “our hope is that students will not notice a big difference.”

The delay in the opening of Wilcox also prompted Browning and Wilson College Dean Lisa Herschbach to create the College Tour initiative, in which students who eat at three different residential college serveries from Tuesday through Thursday of this week are entered into a raffle for various prizes. Klaus said that the tour may even be continued in future years.

Adjusting to the change

Wilson students had mixed reactions to the temporary arrangements.

Lili Fu ’11 said that she had “gotten used to the idea” and that “Wilcox has been undergoing all kinds of changes last year too, so I don’t think it’s going to be too hard for us to adjust” to eating outside, adding that she could always go eat at other residential college dining halls.

Julie Sung ’11 said she thought the situation was unfortunate for both Wilson freshmen and sophomores because bonding with other members of the college over meals is more difficult with students currently spread out in different dining halls.

She also said she wondered if freshmen who had become accustomed to eating in other dining halls would start taking meals in Wilcox next month.