The Ehinger Center being closed on the weekend diminishes the quality of campus life for the entire student body. This semester, the Ehinger Center has become the go-to place to eat on campus—in some ways, even surpassing the Commons. This is all thanks to the new dining options available: Anthony’s Pizza, Halal Shack and Yella’s, which have been widely approved of. While the Commons has expanded its hours of operation until midnight, the Ehinger Center closes at 7 p.m. on weekdays. This is unfortunate, especially for the students who might have classes all day and cannot go during those hours; but what really riles up the student body is the fact that the Ehinger Center and Zaro’s are completely out of commission on weekends.
Many people rely on their Zaro’s bagels, Yella’s milkshakes and Halal rice bowls to get them through the day. Without them, students end up having to resort to ordering food from outside sources. Having to buy food after paying over $3,000 for a meal plan is absurd. One student, Lapo Miles (‘26), who does this on a weekly basis said, “I Doordash on the weekends because I don’t think there are enough variations in the food that they serve on weekends. Drew’s lack of variety ruins my day.” Ordering food on weekends is a common trend with students. Most students do not have vehicles on campus, and are forced to pay the extra delivery fee. Typically, this makes one meal cost about $30.
Weekends are the days when people socialize and catch up on work; however, this proves to be difficult with the lack of food options. How are students supposed to have a productive day on campus when they are hungry? Another student, Kayla Kiernan (‘28) said, “When I am working at my on-campus job, and I want to get food to eat during my shift, I can’t on the weekends. Why? Because the EC is closed. And during my shift, I can’t just leave my post. I think the EC should be open for convenience and to make sure students do not starve.” Other students have expressed concern over this issue. Yes, the Ehinger Center has always been closed on weekends; however, with its spike in popularity, it is more difficult to go without it.
Overall, if the student body is paying over $3,000 dollars for a meal plan, they should be able to enjoy that meal plan in its entirety throughout a week. Since weekends are when there are no classes and students have freetime, it is difficult to do work or socialize when the amount of food options are cut in half.
Samantha DeFalco is a junior majoring in English, minoring in Italian.
Featured image courtesy of Pexels.com.