House Life Committee Debates Extending Dining Hall Hours; Administrators Appear Reticent To Alter Plans

The subcommittee of the Committee on House Life (CHL) charged with examining dining hall hours and interhouse restrictions did not reach a consensus on the extension of dining hall hours in its meeting yesterday.

Prospects for later dining hall hours­—the primary goal of the student members of the committee—appeared slim.

Executive Director of Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) Ted A. Mayer and HUDS Director for Finance, Information Systems, and Procurement Raymond R. Cross detailed the costs of four possibilities for the extension of hours proposed at the last meeting, but argued that the options would all lead to a significant increase in costs for HUDS.

“If you were going to ask me for a recommendation,” said Mayer, “and I don’t want you to kill the messenger, I would have to say that I cannot in good conscience recommend that we extend meal hours.”

Mayer also cautioned that extensive changes to the way dining halls function should come slowly.

“This is not the same as deciding to sell haddock instead of salmon,” he said. “This is a big, big deal.”

While the students on the committee, half of whom are Undergraduate Council (UC) representatives, were unsure of the next step for advocates of extended hours, they said they were committed to finding a workable solution.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the issue,” said Ryan A. Petersen ’08, the chair of the UC Student Affairs Committee. “But the one thing we are certain about is that students have a demonstrated need for food at times that fit their schedules.”

Associate Dean of Residential Life Suzy M. Nelson agreed that the search for a solution was not over.

“What this group decided is that we have to continue to meet,” she said. “I had hoped we could come up with recommendations today, but what I’m hearing is that we need to take this in phases. We can’t solve the problem immediately.”

During the meeting, committee members suggested a number of short-term proposals, including a moving food truck, pre-ordered bag dinners, 24-hour campus grills, and more frequent shuttles for athletes trying to eat before dining halls close.

Mayer said that bag meals could be implemented “definitely by September.”

—SAM TELLER