Earlier this week, Brandeis shared that Sherman Dining Hall will partially reopen on March 16 (see our news section for more details). We expect this to relieve some of the minor problems that Brandeis students have complained about, such as overcrowding at Usdan and a lack of options. However, even before the fire at Sherman Dining Hall, students had numerous complaints about the quality of on-campus dining, and we see no reason to expect that these problems have been solved.
Brandeis’ dining hours have become a consistent point of contention between students and the administration. This has only worsened with the recent extreme weather events and the partial death of Sherman Dining Hall. Despite the need and popular demand, dining halls don’t allow for dining outside of traditional hours. If one is unlucky enough to attempt to go for a meal between main mealtimes, there will be no entrées available. As it stands, and will likely proceed, only the fruit, vegetable bar, and waffle bar will be open outside of designated mealtimes. Compared to what is being offered during prime dining hours, there is a noticeable gap in the diversity of options, which is problematic because students should be entitled to a full meal at any time in their often unpredictable schedule. On the weekend, if a student tried to get a morning bagel, they would meet a closed door until 9:30 a.m., with supplementary locations such as Einstein’s remaining closed until 10 am. Most confusing, especially if we are meant to turn to other on-campus vendors for between-meal foods such as coffee, is the 4 p.m. closing time of Dunkin’ Donuts on weekdays, while Starbucks remains open until 7:30, also rather early considering the library closes at 2 a.m. According to the university registrar class search, around 20 classes on campus end as late as 10:05 p.m., at which point the only available options are The Hive and The Hoot (the store; please do not eat our magazine), signifying a disconnect between student schedules and the operation of these facilities.
The weekend dining options are even more scarce. Although Sherman Dining Hall (pre-fire) and Starbucks are available, students are greatly limited in where and what they can eat. This is especially annoying due to the basic dining plan only allowing students five meal exchanges per week, limiting students from choosing Starbucks if they have already run out of their allotted swipes. This only worsens at night, with Sherman Dining Hall closing at 8 p.m., an entire hour sooner than on weekdays, leaving the only other dinner options as The Stein (when it was open), Einstein’s, and The Hive, which all require the use of meal exchange swipes. Since there is only one dining hall open, students on the upper campus are already forced to hike across campus, in addition to having to organize their schedules around the mere three-hour window in which they can eat.
Even outside of its hours, Brandeis students know that the dining hall’s food leaves much to be desired, to say the least. There are semi-frequent reports of undercooked food, in particular meat, making people sick. If food is not undercooked, it is sometimes overcooked instead. Furthermore, there have been photos alleging the presence of mold, which, if true, poses health hazards that need no explanation. These issues are exacerbated further during intersession breaks, when food quality seems to inexplicably plummet. Food taste is a matter of opinion, but evidence of mistakes that outright harm students is beyond justification. Why are students paying for food that’s making them sick?
If students are seeking an alternative to the dining hall, there are a few “outside” food vendors on campus—Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Einstein’s, and WakuWaku in the International Business School. However, these options hardly provide workable solutions to the dining hall’s problems. Dunkin’ Donuts does not accept meal exchanges, forcing students to use points or actual money to pay for their food. The wait times at Einstein’s can be extreme, with students who order during the lunch rush forced to wait a half hour or more just to get their food. Starbucks primarily focuses on coffee, with the only food available being small pastries and an apple or banana, rather than full meals. WakuWaku is located in the International Business School, too isolated from the rest of the campus and most class locations to provide a regular alternative. As for the restaurants in Downtown Waltham, which are accessible only to students who are willing to walk 20 or 30 minutes, have their own car, or plan ahead with the shuttle schedules, it is difficult to call these options convenient. Even for students willing to travel to off-campus restaurants regularly, most students’ budgets prohibit eating out for every meal, meaning that students are forced to eat on campus in spite of the many problems. The only option that was consistently beloved among the student community was The Stein, until the untimely conflagration, and the administration’s email implies that its regular offerings will not be returning, at least for a while.
The options at the kosher dining hall at Brandeis have always struggled to keep up with the demand for variety, and after the fire, that problem has only worsened. Now, the main place to get kosher food at Brandeis is in the Faculty Lounge. Students report that the food is marginally worse than it was at Sherm, with the same sporadic seasoning and improperly cooked protein. The greatest problem, however, lies in the exclusive meat offerings. Jewish law prohibits eating milk and meat simultaneously, and because of its small kitchen, the Faculty Lounge exclusively serves meat for every meal. Imagine having meat for all three meals a day, with no dairy for weeks on end. No cereal at breakfast. No morning coffee. Although dairy-free milks are available, there is simply no comparison for real dairy meals. At Brandeis, a school that features a student body that is roughly 33% Jewish, this is what kosher-observant students have had to contend with for more than a month.
Between a lack of options and poor dining quality, with what few options there are, Brandeis students are certainly getting the short end of the stick on food. Higher quality food, greater variety of meal choices that meet a college student’s budget, and more student-friendly hours are all potential major steps towards improving the quality of dining at Brandeis. We hope that the administration will recognize these issues and take steps to listen to the hearts, minds, and stomachs of the student body.
