After years of persistent complaints from students, hollow promises from administrators and bluster from all sides, the era of on-campus dining as one of the most prevalent sources of student frustration is finally over.
We've finally moved on from the unappetizing Sodexho operations of years past, which had produced enough mediocre food in unsavory dining spaces to land us in the top 10 of the Princeton Review's "Worst Food" rankings. That was hardly the kind of top billing that Hopkins was seeking.
As a result campus dining became one of the most oft-repeated jokes at the University, and added to the sense that student life concerns were getting short-changed.
But that all seems to be changing. Given three weeks to measure the impact that the new Charles Commons and its dining facilities have had on student life -- an impact that has been heralded by administrators and long-awaited by students -- we think it is safe to say that the changes have been positive, and the potential to build on the momentum of those changes is great.
The best changes have been the ones that increase the sociability of the dining spaces, eliminating the high-school-cafeteria atmosphere of the former Terrace and Wolman.
The Charles Commons dining area, the Third at 33rd, has a swank style that encourages lounging and conversation -- welcome additions to a campus that currently lacks central spaces for social interaction. And just as importantly, the food being served has also seen some improvement from the old pap. With an improved atmosphere and palatable food, the Charles Commons and other new dining facilities on campus look more and more like viable social hubs.
Indeed the raw material is in place for a fundamental reevaluation of student life at Hopkins. All that remains to be done is to infuse the groundwork that has been laid with the creative energy that is required to actualize a broader vision for social life on campus. Without it, the movement toward improved on-campus dining and a more centralized student community -- and the far-reaching influence they wield over the entire Hopkins experience -- could be lost to the infectious complacency of self-satisfaction.
To avoid this, administrators and student leaders should pursue more innovative programming at the Commons and other dining facilities, and at the same time maintain the quality of the food and services.
The challenge now is simply to ensure that those responsible for maintaining and promoting these changes -- specifically the administrators in Housing and Dining Services and our representatives in Student Council -- do not neglect what is still just a budding new era for an historically apathetic and largely diffracted student community on campus.
And then, and only then, will we be truly satisfied.
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