Sodexo’s decision to close Lower Usdan and open Upper Usdan on the weekends was not based on a lack of money but on the desire to give students more options. Full-service dining halls used to be the primary option for most of the weekend.
Sodexo looked at weekend foot traffic in the full-service dining halls last year and concluded that the number of students who wanted a full-service option on the weekends could be satisfied with Sherman alone. Closing Lower but opening Upper then gives students more options.
“By opening up Upper Usdan and including a meal-exchange option, students can have the opportunity to enjoy the all-you-care-to-eat option at Sherman as well as the variety of both the retail items in Curritos, Deis Bowl and Sub Connection,” Andy Allen, general manager of Sodexo, said in an email to the Dining Committee.
The Senate Dining Committee is continuing to speak with Sodexo regarding the dining changes made this year, said Kate Kesselman, class of 2019 senator and chair of the Senate Dining Committee. Many students were confused about the reasoning behind the decisions Sodexo made this year.
Even though Sodexo claims in its advertising material this is what students would want because of data they accumulated, they did not ask for student opinion on the changes before making them.
“They didn’t really let the students decide this, so you know, people were upset,” Kesselman said. The Student Union is still unable to confirm any of the data Sodexo continues to cite because they have not yet received any data or financial reports, despite requesting them.
Students were concerned about dining hall hours being cut, and the Dining Committee addressed this with Sodexo, as well. Kesselman referred to an improvement in food quality as one of the reasons that hours had to be cut, since more money is going toward bettering the food.
“Some people might not realize it … but the quality of food has increased a lot and, you know, that takes money. Hand-breaded chicken, quality meat … so they said, we’re going to use more money toward this and less hours,” she said.
Louis’ Deli saw decreased hours this year, with closing time moved from midnight to 9 p.m. throughout the week and from 3 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays. The “average traffic count per hour from 9 p.m.-midnight” was seven students, and the “average traffic count from 2:30-3p.m. on Friday” was five students, Allen wrote.
In response to these changes, a Sodexo survey will be coming out in October. “It’s really important that people fill it out because it will help us with our dining,” Kesselman said. She hopes that a larger number of students will take the survey this year, because last year only 70 people responded to it. Their goal is to get 450-500 people to take it this year.
Sodexo is also looking for student workers, due to a general lack of staff. “I’ve been trying to promote this idea of student staff, because when there’s student staff, not only are you getting paid, which is awesome as a student, but you’re helping the dining system, like the lines,” Kesselman said.
The Student Union is looking for students to join the Dining Committee. Kesselman said that a student does not have to be on the Senate to be on the Dining Committee. There are currently two non-Senate members in the group. The Dining Committee meets from 6-7 p.m. on Sundays in the Student Union office.
