Dining modifies schedule for student decline

With a decrease in student population, the dining facilities of Residential Programs and Services have to adapt.

So, they operate on a summer schedule beginning the week after finals and ending before Welcome Week in August.

Residents of on-campus housing often rely on dining services for meals, and students without access to personal transportation turn to the dining halls out of convenience.
According to the RPS website, at least one dining facility will be open and available during the entirety of the summer academic sessions. The dates and time of availability are different at every location, and patrons will need to check the RPS website to determine which locations are open.

Sandy Porter, manager at Hoosier Cafe and Store in Eigenmann Residence Center, said the hour and location changes are the result of a decrease in population during the summer months.

“The whole dynamic of the campus changes because of the change in population,” Porter said.

She noted that the summer months are also a time for the facilities on campus to undergo renovations. With so few students on campus during summer sessions, the University has down time to make enhancements or provide upkeep.

Senior Chris Dhanaraj lived in the dorms during the last school year and said he purchased many of his meals from the dining halls.  Though the dining halls are convenient, he said the change in availability will not have a great impact on his budget.

“I actually save money,” he said. “RPS is fairly overpriced. If you have the ability to get groceries and you don’t eat at super expensive places, dining halls are not the cheaper option. They are just more convenient.”

Junior Ellen Queen currently lives in Ashton Residence Center for the summer and said she is frustrated with the dining hall situation.

“It’s really inconvenient when I’m on another part of campus and something else would be a lot closer than Eigenmann,” she said. “And even then, there’s not a lot of variety.”

Queen said most of the time she goes to RPS dining halls for meals.

“I’m a poor college student and don’t have real money,” she said.

However, Queen said sometimes making the trip to the open dining facility is not
practical.

“It’s literally like the difference between having a five-minute walk to a deli than a 25-minute walk to Eigenmann,” she said.

— IDS campus editor Bailey Loosemore contributed to this story.