CDS surveys discussed at committee meeting

The Housing and Dining Committee met Tuesday to discuss the preliminary turnout of the meal plan surveys distributed last week. The results will be tabulated by early May.

The two surveys were designed to gather student opinions on the current state of the Campus Dining Services (CDS). The survey will end when the final report is issued, according to Michele Gross, assistant director of Residential Life and Services.

Gross said Residential Life is soliciting help from a number of individuals skilled in statistical analysis to help look at the data from the surveys.

The first survey, distributed last week, was drafted by Residential Life to target uniquely Oberlin dining issues pertaining to facilities details and meal plan options. The second survey was from Marriot Corporation, which currently supplies CDS with food, and designed to gather information about the types of food and service students want.

Three parties will be asked to review the results for Residential Life. Results will be used to reform the dining services on campus, possibly as early as the fall of 1998. Gross said Residential Life does not yet know how big the changes will be. Depending on how drastic the changes are, they may take a number of years to implement.

Gross said changes with low budgetary impact may happen next fall, with significant changes happening later. The changes possible for CDS are potentially drastic. Closures of dining halls and restructuring of the meal plans are possible responses to student wants.

"The ideal plan, I don't think, will be next fall," Gross said. "I don't want to give up, though."

Gross said there will be many issues to be worked out, including facilities and the budget.

"We are really trying to somewhat demystify what students really want," Gross said. "Increased student satisfaction in dining is a high priority."

About 800 surveys were returned last week, exceeding what CDS had planned to have returned. Gross encouraged students to drop surveys off at the main office if they had not returned them yet.

A two dollar voucher for the Wilder Snack Bar was offered as an incentive for turning in the first survey. "It was important to us to get students to fill out the survey so we tried to find something attractive to use as an incentive," Gross said. A voucher for a free pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream was offered as incentive for returning the second survey.

"I wanted the Ben and Jerry's ice cream," first year Beth Kontrabecki said on why she filled out the survey.

Some students do not think the surveys will have an effect on the direction on CDS. First-year John Morgan didn't fill out the survey because he didn't think it would matter. "I didn't feel it would change anything," Morgan said.

Kontrabecki said she didn't think the surveys would make a difference, either. "A lot of people lied and just filled in answers just to get the ice cream," she said.

"CDS is CDS," first-year Libby Floyd said.

Students could not get copies of the second survey Thursday because there were not enough.

"She didn't have any left," junior Annie Kennedy said.

"They know with the number of people who are trying to get off-board that the food is bad," junior Yasmeen Rashid said. Rashid is on board, but buys food in town and eats elsewhere. "The food's bland and you don't have much of a variety," she said.

"I do not want in any way to predict what we do not know yet," Gross said. "We know it's important and we're willing to try to make some difficult changes."

The Mariott Corporation's contract is up for renewal next year. Gross said the college reviews every outside vendor contract periodically and that Mariott's is not unusual.

"Res. Life thought it was time to give a review of the current dining service," Gross said. The contract has not been reviewed recently, she said.

"The most important thing is to choose the best company," Gross said.