Issue date: 8/24/09 Section: News

(Graphic by Chris Lee/The Daily Eastern News)

Students eating in the dining halls will notice an increase in the hours and food options available in the dining centers across campus from last year.

University Housing and Dining Services added an additional 21.5 hours of operation throughout the week.

Hours were extended at all dining halls and at restaurants in Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Students who attend Late Night Pizza at Thomas Hall and Reservation Only Dining at Stevenson Hall will now be able to enjoy those meals on Sunday nights as well.

The only cut was Java B and B now closes at 2 p.m. on Fridays.

The extended hours come as a result from the Resident Hall Satisfaction Survey, given by the University Housing and Dining Services last fall. The survey had a response from more than 45 percent of residents.

Mark Hudson, director of Housing and Dining, said one thing the students expressed the most interest in was increasing dining hall hours.

Although 93 percent of those who responded to the survey reported being satisfied with the serving hours in the dining centers, Housing and Dining has made it a goal to make that number even higher. Of those who responded, 3 percent gave the dining centers an overall negative rating.

Increased hours require extra shifts

Housing and Dining hires approximately 600 students to work at various jobs, such as dining workers, desk assistants, night assistants, etc.

To compensate for the increased hours, Housing and Dining will hire more employees to cover the extra shifts. The number of new hires is not yet known because some current student employees work multiple shifts.

Housing and Dining workers are paid minimum wage, which increased to $8 per hour July 1.

The cost to pay for the extra shifts, as well as other Housing and Dining-related purchases, comes from room and board payments.

Room and board costs are determined by the type of room a student lives in and his meal plan choice. For example, a student living in Lawson Hall in a double as a single with a 7 Plus meal plan pays $3,584, plus $800 for the single room.

"The money we get is from those who live with us," Hudson said. "Our interest is really strong in enhancing service."

New options added to menu

Another noticeable change is the food served in Tower Dining, located in Stevenson Hall.

Tower Dining will now have build-your-own options rotated each week, such as build-your-own nachos and noodle bowls. These options will be rotated to make all the options available to work with students' schedules.

For the second year in a row, nalgene water bottles will be given to students for free the first time they enter the dining halls. The bottles are blue this year, but students can still use the black bottles from last year.

Information about the changes and a list of all dining hours and meals can be found at www.eiu.edu/~dining.

Sarah Jean Bresnahan can be reached at 581-7942 or at dencampusdesk@gmail.com.

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