Housing and dining to release survey

The Housing and Dining Committee will release a 16-question survey to all students the week following Thanksgiving break requesting student participation in evaluating current housing and dining programs.

Assistant Director of Housing and Dining Sandra Hougland said the Committee realizes large problems exist in both campus housing and dining that they hope student input will help to rectify. Prior to the 1998-1999 school year, only the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association and Campus Dining Services's 21-meal plan were available to students. Housing and Dining submitted a survey to students in 1997-1998 in an attempt to provide more dining options, resulting in the opening of DeCafé and the renovated Dascomb.

"That survey was sort of checking with the students on how we could improve," Hougland said. "We want to know what the students' priorities are." Upon establishing the revised dining plan in 1998-1999, the Housing and Dining Committee promised to ask students after two years if the changes met their needs.

Hougland acknowledged the difficulty of achieving "off board" status and the exorbitant prices of DeCafé as the chief limitations of the current meal plan. She hopes that with the input of students CDS will become more flexible in the future. She said, "I know the students want it to be easier to get off board and I want that too. We're willing to listen."

Double-degree fifth-year Corey D'Augustine attempted to get off board his senior year but was denied. "Until my senior year all seniors could be off board if they wanted to," he said. He suspects that the recent push by Campus Dining to keep as many students as possible on the meal plan is motivated by the large amount of revenue it produces. As former employee of Campus Dining, he said, "They overcharge so much for food, they underpay their workers, and the food they serve is of ridiculously low quality...that's how they make their revenue."

A sheet of facts and opinions accompanying the survey states, "Living in a residence hall and participating in a common meal is an essential element in building a residential community and developing the interpersonal skills that experience provides."

"That's ridiculous," said D'Augustine. "How we eat is not a decision which needs to be made for us."

Sophomore Nina Lalli cited the convenience of DeCafé as an asset, but complained of a lack of healthy options. Protesting the high prices, she said, "Buying groceries there is totally ridiculous. Basic goods are a complete rip-off." She also pointed to understaffing as a problem the DeCafé needs to correct. "I think it's popular enough so that it requires better staffing. Sometimes during peak hours it's obvious there aren't enough people working. It's something they need to take care of."

The survey's section regarding housing will ask for student input on how to compensate for the 50 beds permanently lost due to the demolition of Barrows. "There are places on campus that are currently underutilized," Hougland said. The Housing and Dining Committee is considering renovating the fourth floor of Talcott as well as the basement of South to expand student housing. The survey will list open doubles, quads, divided doubles, singles, suites and apartments as options. "We want to involve both the architects and the students in order to do something creative," she said, "Of course, if this causes more students to live on campus...that's great."

Lalli, who expects to live off-campus next year, was less optimistic. "Dorms are depressing," she said, "I'd really like my own kitchen."

She said the creation of suites or apartments within the dorms would not induce her to stay on campus. "I would so much rather have my own private place to go. It's impossible to be alone in dorms," she said. Lalli cited the lack of flexibility of dining hall hours as a major drawback to Campus Dining. "I like to eat dinner a lot later than when Stevenson closes," she said.

The Campus Housing and Dining Committee will release the survey to students the week following Thanksgiving break. Representatives from the committee will go to both co-ops and dining halls to circulate the surveys and answer student questions.