When Tristan Britt walked up to get some soft serve in Edmondson Dining Hall earlier this semester, he made a discovery: the machine was no longer working.
He looked at the dining hall manager, as did many other students, and she only shook her head.
He knew that meant that this time, after previous temporary problems, the soft serve machine was gone for good.
“It was a long time coming, but I’m still sad to see it go,” Britt said.
Edmondson Dining Hall in the Collins Living Learning Center has experienced many changes throughout its history, but the soft serve machine has been a constant for students for 20 years.
But the machine has served its last bowl. It finally quit functioning after years of use, but Residential Programs and Services Dining Services is looking at replacement options.
“It broke last year, and they fixed it, but they said it was going to be a one-time fix only because it was an old machine,” Britt, RPS general assembly delegate, said.
Britt said students used to make a lot of different ice cream dishes, ranging from floats to à la mode, with the other desserts offered.
For a few days, though, students were unable to eat a frozen dessert with their buffets.
“It was kind of a sad moment,” Britt said.
Efforts to replace the machine are in progress to satisfy student requests.
Dining director Sandra Fowler and C-Store coordinator Brian Barker are meeting with a representative today to discuss pricing and possible equipment.
Barker explained the representative will be doing an onsite survey and giving Fowler and Barker recommendations on what machine to order.
“We want to review all the different aspects,” Barker said.
The mechanism that has broken down was not the first soft serve machine in the Edmondson Dining Hall.
Machines from other dining areas were distributed around campus years ago, and Edmondson received one of those appliances.
RPS Dining Services has temporarily replaced the machine with a fridge for prepackaged frozen goods.
Students are able to help themselves to as much as they like as long as they don’t leave with any in hand.
Buffet rules prohibit students from taking any food out of the dining hall.
Employees said they see the replacement as less of a waste because the items can be saved for another day.
“(We) got that going as a quick fix,” dining hall manager Sandy Porter said. “I thought this would better serve the customers. The soft serve was only one flavor.”
She said there are different types of frozen desserts offered in the fridge, as opposed to the machine, and even mentioned an ice cream sundae event.
Currently, Push-Pops, and cups of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream are offered.
It will take six to eight weeks for an order for a new machine to come through, but Fowler said she believes the new machine should be in before the semester ends.
“We do try to take care of (the students) as much as we can,” Fowler said.
