Dining Halls of Distinction: 'Don't Call it a Cafeteria!'

Melissa Ezarik, of University Business, writes about campuses with distinctive and leading edge dining programs and facilities.

Dining facilities and programs are an integral part of campus life. Long gone are cafeteria-style dining areas with cafeteria-quality food. Today’s students can savor a dining experience that rivals the best home cooking and their favorite restaurants—and college and university dining services departments are delivering just that. Program administrators realize that customer service and diner input are key. And they know that both environmental sustainability and financial stability are expected. Our Dining Halls of Distinction represent stellar programs that have features worth emulating elsewhere.

Return of the Trays at Yale

Symbolic of resistance to change for sustainability, going trayless in the dining hall at Yale met with semi-organized student resistance, apparently strongest among athletes, so the trays are back:

The football team has been particularly vocal about the need for trays, Commons General Manager Thomas Peterlik said. Some members of the team did not clear their plates after one meal this week, Peterlik said, instead leaving them in a towering stack at the end of a table in protest. Two members of the team denied knowledge of the incident.