With the return from Spring Break came the inevitable return to Tech’s dining halls, to the chagrin of some and the anticipation of others. Opinions on Tech’s current dining options vary widely from student to student, but most students have something to say.
These suggested improvements range from more healthy and vegetarian options, to lengthened peak hours at the dining halls, to a way to make the dining options central to campus more readily accessible to students on meal plans.
A population as diverse as Tech’s implies varying palates. Some students’ religion plays a role in determining what food they may consume, while others may choose a vegetarian or vegan diet based on their moral beliefs.
“While the dining hall staff does a good job in general of having vegetarian options too, sometimes the labelling isn’t as clear as it could be. I remember one time where it was wrong, and I wound up eating a bite of chicken by mistake,” said Megan Shew, a first year EnvE major.
“I would really like to see some healthy options offered daily, like grilled chicken, etc,” said Katherine Marchand, a first-year BME major.
“I have no gripes with the food here,” said Nick Popescu, a first-year CS major. “It’d be great to have an option in the middle of campus where you can use your meal plan swipes instead of having to use Buzzfunds or Ramblin’, [because] some people don’t have the time to go to the middle of campus to eat between classes,” said Donovan Shuman, a first-year ALIS major.
“The food is not nearly worth what they charge for it at the dining halls,” said Nicole Ray, a firstyear EE major.
Tech’s dining options are an important matter for students around campus, and the Student Government Association has tried to work hand in hand with the student body and GT dining to get feedback from the students to those responsible for putting out the food.
This year, many of the Freshman representatives ran on platforms centered around making changes to the dining halls. Two of the four representatives who were elected, Gillen Heisler and Alex Bandes, are a part of a division of the SGA called the Dining and Retail Services Advisory Board.
“I have heard concerns from students wanting the dining halls to change their peak hours of service as well as keep the 24 hour service perk of North Ave and Brittain,” Heisler said.
A new dining hall at North Avenue was a welcome addition to the dining options on campus.
No matter students’ individual opinions on Tech’s dining options, the general consensus seems to be that while there have been many improvements made, there is still room for various changes to whet the student’s appetites.