The University of Connecticut prides itself on taking care of its students from a holistic perspective. However, one area where they have fallen short is accessibility to dining halls. While UConn has seven dining halls across its campus, five of them close at 7:15, while only two stay open until 10:00 p.m., and that only happens five days of the week. This is an extremely early hour for the dining halls to close, and UConn Dining Services should highly consider keeping their dining halls open for 24 hours, or at the very least staying open later.
The majority of dining halls closing at 7:15 p.m. makes no sense whatsoever. Classes, clubs and other activities go far past that time and cause students to have to use one of the late-night options, which may be out of the way or less convenient than the closest dining hall. There are specific areas such as East Campus that are not conveniently located near Northwest or McMahon. Not to mention the fact that dining halls such as McMahon often have long lines and a high volume of students during the late night time period. Additionally, late night is only an option if the student can finish their other commitments before 10:00 p.m., which is not always guaranteed given college students’ busy schedules. Babbidge Library is open until 2:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday, the Rec Center is open until 10:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and classes on the Storrs campus can go past 7:30 p.m., which I verified through UConn’s Dynamic Class Search. All of these campus facilities go past 7:15 p.m., yet the majority of dining halls are not open. While the late-night option helps slightly to alleviate this issue, college students are extremely busy with classes, clubs, social lives and other commitments. Not being constrained by limited dining hall hours would help to ensure that students can eat and stay healthy.
Looking at other flagship state schools in New England, one can find that UConn’s dining halls comparatively close much earlier. The University of Massachusetts residential dining options either close at 9:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m. The University of Rhode Island’s dining halls typically close at 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m., which doesn’t beat UConn’s late-night option but is more convenient than the closing time of the majority of dining halls. UConn’s 7:15 p.m. closing time seems to be an anomaly.
The obvious reason that this proposal may not be possible is the cost. Keeping dining halls open costs money, mainly to pay the necessary staff. And while it is true that keeping dining halls open 24 hours a day or even extending the hours at all would cost money, it is worth it to do so. Costs can also be reduced by offering bare minimums such as cereal, bagels, etc to ensure the number of staff needed is minimal, but students still have access to food. Such costs are worth it because it is clear that there is a demand. McMahon Dining Hall is extremely busy during its late night hours, and many students enter right before it closes at 10:00 p.m. This shows that students appreciate and utilize the option to eat later, and it is very likely that other halls would also be utilized if they stayed open until 10:00 p.m. or even later.
Food is a necessity, and ensuring students are able to eat and consistently have access to the food they pay for with their meal plan should be a top priority. Extending dining hall hours would allow students to have access to food and the ability to eat at more times, without having to interrupt their busy schedules or be met with an overcrowded dining hall. Ultimately, this is a way for UConn to easily support its students health and overall well-being.