Changes in the caf spark controversy

The start of a new school year brought a number of new and noticeable changes to Luther’s cafeteria. With extended hours, a lack of plastic wrap and a new table arrangement, the cafeteria is definitely among the buzz of student and faculty conversation this year.

Upon entering the caf the first week of school, most students couldn’t help but notice the new table arrangement. Rather than the traditional straight rows, the are turned at a slant.

“Having all the tables in long rows looks like army barracks,” Director of Dining Services,Warren Palm said of this change that occurred this summer.

While Palm is optimistic about the alterations in the caf, many students find the new style cramped and inconvenient.

“The table arrangement seems to be a big problem for a lot of our patrons,” said Student Manager Ashlie Schinke (‘09). “It appears to be too full in the dining room most days.”

Ryan Niles (‘10) agreed that space was an issue.

“They seem like they’re too close together,” said Niles. “It makes it really hard to move around the caf.”

Palm acknowledges the new arrangement’s space limitations, along with the complaints of students.

“I’m glad we’re getting comments,” said Palm. “There have been quite a few in the suggestion box, and we are discussing it.”

Palm said one reason the cafeteria seemed crowded at the beginning of the school year was the large number of students eating in the cafeteria before meal transfers started. Dining Services expects a reduction of a couple hundred students per meal now that meal transfers have begun. They plan to reevaluate and possibly remove some tables to make more room.

Another change the cafeteria saw this year was the removal of plastic wrap.

“The number one reason is that it was being abused,” Palm said. “We took it away because there were kids that would get up to five sandwiches at a time.”

With increased meal transfer times and options, Palm anticipates that more people will use these options and thus not need to take out as much food for later. However, Palm hasn’t ruled out bringing plastic wrap back.

“If we see it’s still causing a problem, we’ll bring it back,” Palm said. “But we’re trying to move towards the hope that people won’t need to take food out of the cafeteria.”

In addition to these changes, the cafeteria also extended its dinner hours. At the request of the Student Athletic Advisory Board, the cafeteria’s hours were moved back half an hour until 7:30.

“The hours were changed to help better fit into students’ schedules,” said Schinke. “While dinner used to start at 4:30 and run until 7:00, we now serve 5:00 to 7:30.”

Athletes across the board seem to be enjoying the benefits of not having to rush to the cafeteria to get dinner after evening practices.

“You have time to do the extra things like strides and stretching,” cross-country runner Annie McKay (‘11) said. “You don’t feel as rushed.”

According to Leah McCrea, the student work coordinator, student workers seem to be enjoying the new times as well.

“I think overall students are happy with the new hours,” McCrea said. “They don’t have to rush so much from their last class.”

Schinke also finds the hours to be more convenient, as she doesn’t have to eat her meal as early on shift days.

“Since we come in to work later, it seems to be an appropriate payoff,” Schinke said. “It helps not having to eat your dinner at 3:45, even if means you end up working until 8:30.”

Another addition to the cafeteria is the organic meals served on Mondays. The special weekly meal is part of the Oneota Co-op’s community challenge to eat 80% organic for the month of September.

Although the organic Monday meals will only last through September, Diane Narum, production manager of dining services, said the cafeteria is committed to sustainability and local purchasing.

“We are working very diligently to incorporate as many local items as possible as far into the winter,” said Naurm. “We are also looking at what items we can continue to use throughout the year, such as freezing local tomatoes to use for sauces.”

One change students were anticipating has gone unaddressed this year. Despite the controversy over the elimination of trays last spring, they have not been removed.

Palm said the main reason the trays still remain is due to some unresolved issues and the need to look into other possibilities, such as compartmentalized plates or larger plates.

The issue is not over, as Palm plans to present the idea of going trayless to the cabinet at one of its next meetings.

Palm, who described the value of student input, said there would definitely be an “open forum so that people can express their feelings.”

Change can bring displeasure, and the new cafeteria situations have been no different. A number of student workers expressed frustration in the ways students have been acting with disrespect towards the cafeteria workers.

“There’s been a lot of anger directed towards student managers,” said Student Manager Jessica Boese (‘09), “but we just enforce the rules.”

Although it seems as if every student has a different opinion and different ways of dealing with change, Boese offers some words of wisdom for fellow students.

“Try to be open-minded,” she said. “None of the changes are going to work unless people are open-minded.”