It’s 9:20 p.m. and your three-hour class just ended. As your stomach grumbles one last time for the whole class to hear, the realization hits. The dining hall is closed, leaving only Subway, Starbucks and the Market as options for dinner — all of which cost dining dollars or money.
With the hefty and mandatory $4,490 per-semester meal plan for freshmen, not being able to get dinner from the dining hall after 9:30 p.m. is frustrating. The dining hall should be open late enough for all students to eat, regardless of their class schedules.
From Monday to Thursday, the dining hall has dinner until 9:30 p.m. On Fridays, it is open until 8 p.m. and on Sundays, it is open until 9 p.m. The dining hall also has late-night dining on Thursday to Saturday, reopening the kitchen from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
With the population of students taking classes that end at 9:20 p.m., and the late-night study habits many students at this school have, there remains no time for many students to indulge in their last meal of the day.
Late-night dining is in theory a solution to this issue, but in reality, it is only accessible to half of the freshmen. It is currently only available in the Mahoney-Pearson dining hall, leaving all students in Centennial Village forced to walk across campus to eat.
Centennial Village resident Sophia Clark said, “I have only been to late-night dining once. It’s just such a hassle that late.”
Additionally, it only being available from Thursday to Sunday leaves students without a meal all other nights of the week. Late-night dining is a great idea in theory, but its limitations prevent it from providing all students access to food.
On nights that the dining hall doesn’t have late hours, there are many students who have classes that end later than the dining hall is open. Freshman Shannon Brickley has a class on Tuesdays that ends at 9:30 p.m.
“The late time was the only class open by my time to register,” said Brickley, “I literally don’t eat dinner on Tuesdays because I can’t afford to DoorDash that much.”
Like Brickley, many students in late classes aren’t doing it by choice. Instead, these students have been forced to select later times as it is the only time the course they need is offered.
A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showed that food insecurity is negatively associated with GPA, both alone and when considering demographic covariates.
The dining hall hours are not only inconvenient, but are further impacting students’ cognitive ability to maintain the grades required for UM’s rigor.
“We recognize that some students may have additional factors, such as labs, team practices or internships/jobs, that may impact their schedules. Any student with a scheduling conflict or concern is encouraged to reach out to our team so we can ensure they receive the support and nutrition they need,” said Michael Ross, the vice president of operations for UM Dining Services.
But that is not the point. Students shouldn’t have to request accommodations on a schedule that the school establishes. Not to mention, these potential accommodations are not advertised anywhere, leaving students unaware this is an option.
“I DoorDash dinner around four times a week and an energy drink once or twice a week because I have a late class, and always lose track of time when studying. By the time I go to eat, it is closed,” said freshman Sadie Rosenblatt.
Even those students who are willing and able to spend money on DoorDash weekly shouldn’t be forced to. Spending excess money to get a different dinner should be a personal choice, not one that the student is forced to make.
“This spending is draining my bank account, but not eating dinner after classes and the long days I have is ridiculous,” said Rosenblatt.
UM’s dining halls currently have a system that prevents students from eating dinner. These hours must be extended so that all students have access to the food they paid for.
Feed the students who study late. Keep the dining halls open.