It’s just after 6 p.m. and the line at the De Neve dining
hall quickly grows from just a few people to dozens of residents.
The line begins to creep up the stairs in De Neve, but students
continue to patiently wait for their turn to eat.
With the opening of the two new residential plazas ““
Rieber Vista and Hedrick Summit ““ the dining halls have had
to accommodate an additional 1,350 students living on the Hill
without the aid of any new dining halls being opened.
Many second-year students say that the dining halls are much
more crowded than they were last year.
“I think (De Neve) is worse at certain times, but Hedrick
is way worse because of the new buildings,” said Lilly Hecht,
a second-year pre-business economics student.
Hecht said that another dining hall should be built instead of
another eatery like Bruin Cafe.
Second-year sociology and psychobiology student Melody Hsiou
said she does not remember De Neve being so crowded last year.
Hsiou said the wait would keep her from eating there more often
because it wastes too much time.
Associate Director of Dining Services Connie Foster said the
crowds in the dining halls are to be expected.
“It’s always crowded at the beginning of the
quarter,” she said.
She said that De Neve dining hall is usually more crowded
because it is popular with students and it is closer to campus.
Some changes in hours of operation have been made to a few of
the dining halls on the Hill in an attempt to meet student
demands.
Covel Commons is now open until 9 p.m. every day for dinner
instead of De Neve and Bruin Cafe is open continuously from 7 a.m.
to midnight during the week, according to the Dining Services Web
site.
“We have changed the hours and left Bruin Cafe open based
on student requests,” Foster said.
Housing Director Michael Foraker said it is cheaper to operate
Bruin Cafe and Puzzles than it is to operate a large dining hall
that requires more labor.
Students find the other dining halls to be crowded as well.
“(Covel) is really crowded at certain times, but those are
the times when I won’t normally go and eat dinner,”
said Michelle Siu, a second-year psychology student.
Siu said Covel is usually more crowded from about 6 to 7 p.m.
and that Bruin Cafe is a good way to avoid the crowd.
“I haven’t been to many dining halls this year, but
Covel is definitely more crowded than last year,” Siu
said.
Some first-year students say that the wait at the dining halls
is not that bad.
“This is the first time it’s been this bad,”
said Eileen Kim, a first-year English student, while waiting in
line at De Neve Tuesday night.
Kim said the dining halls are not usually very crowded when she
goes to eat, especially in the mornings.
She added that even when there is a line it is not too bad
because the line moves quickly.
Foster said that Dining Services will evaluate the residential
restaurants every quarter, at which point changes may be made to
accommodate the needs of students.
A new “food boutique” called Rendez-Vous is expected
to be open this spring, Foraker said.
Rendez-Vous will have the same setup as Bruin Cafe, in which
students can order their food and choose to eat in the restaurant
or take their meal to go. The boutique will serve two types of
cuisine ““ Asian Pacific and Latin American. It will be
located in Rieber Terrace.