As a resident on South Quad, I undeniably pledge my loyalty to the superior dining hall, SDH. I went to NDH for dinner to see it after the renovation this year, and I could barely eat without the wave of guilt washing over me for cheating on SDH. Needless to say, with the Hogwarts-style dining rooms and beautiful rustic facade, the general layout and the recent improvement in food, I will defend SDH to the day I die. Even though SDH has my heart, there are a few changes this year that I believe do not do the dining hall justice.
Unlike last year, you now enter SDH through the dining area, as opposed to going through the food area first. Practically, last year had a better layout with those entering through the food area and exiting through the dining area. There are rush hours where the lines get ridiculous, but generally those lines last year were kept inside or around the cubbies. While those lines were kept near the cubbies and against the wall with the newspapers, those who were leaving the dining hall could walk out with little problems. Starting this year, people now enter and exit through the same dining area doors. And when rush hour hits, there’s a line of students that goes straight across the whole foyer, which causes the entire area to become congested and those coming and going are running into each other. When those rush hours hit, especially around 12:30 pm, I’ve learned to not even look and go straight downstairs to the Grab and Go line. When I eat in the dining hall and don’t get Grab and Go, I generally end up weaving around people coming and going near the entrance and exit area.
Along with the new entrance, silverware has also been dispersed throughout the dining hall differently. When entering last year through the food area, the silverware and trays were laid out right after swiping in, making it convenient and easy to pick up everything and go about your meal. Now the silverware is arranged throughout the food area, which you enter after going through the dining area, and people are swerving around the stations trying to pick it up. Or some people are like me and sit down with their meal, realizing they have to go back into the food area, dodging people to pick up the silverware.
In addition to the changes of the layout, SDH needs to continue to improve its food options. Although NDH has the new Marketplace with more options, the items do not run on points and count as a meal swipe, but rather they come out of your Flex Points — which is disappointing. SDH wins when it comes to having Grab and Go count as a meal swipe, but the food options can improve from the salads and sandwiches offered. Also with NDH being renovated and including some more new food options, SDH has put in effort to switch up the menu, greatly pleasing loyal SDH goers, and should continue to do so.
As previously mentioned, I love SDH with all my heart, but changes to the layout and the continual improvement of food options will help maintain and raise the number of other SDH fans.
