The presidents of Allison Hall and the Associated Student Government are scheduled to meet today with Sodexho Marriott Food Services officials to question their decision during the summer to close the Allison dining hall on weekends for the 2000-01 academic year.
Representing Allison, Public Affairs Residential College, Shepard Residential College and Willard Residential College, Allison President Gillian Schauer wrote a petition to administrators two weeks ago objecting to the decision to shift dining to 1835 Hinman, which seats about 90 fewer students than Allison and is not as centrally located on campus.
“Students pay $35,000 a year and should be able to eat on the weekend within two blocks of where they live,” Schauer told The Daily Monday. “The university didn’t consult with a lot of students about this decision.”
Paul Komelasky, district manager for Sodexho Marriott, said the change to 1835 Hinman from Allison was meant to make life more convenient for students on “East Campus,” referring to the four dorms east of The Arch.
Komelasky also said students were not consulted before the decision because of a conflict in timing with Finals Week at the end of Spring Quarter. During the summer, ASG members, the Residence Hall Association and dorm presidents were notified of the switch, but other students received no update, Komelasky said.
ASG President Adam Humann, who headed the Food Services Committee last year, said he didn’t know why the switch occurred.
“I don’t know who made the decision,” Humann said. “I’d like to know, and why it didn’t go through the Food Services Committee. It’s illogical.”
Humann also is scheduled to meet with Komelasky and Schauer today.
News of the closing came as a surprise to students expecting to dine at Allison last weekend. Many students said during the summer, they received a Northwestern dining services pamphlet saying Allison’s dining hall would serve lunch on Saturday and brunch and dinner on Sunday.
Komelasky said the pamphlet was incorrect because NU set a June 1 deadline for all materials to be mailed to students during the summer, and the decision to close Allison’s dining hall on weekends had not yet been made. Komelasky also said the pamphlet included a disclaimer stating the dining hall hours were not permanent.
As a result of the shift, the smaller dining hall at 1835 Hinman is catering to Allison’s weekend crowd, which includes Communications Residential College, Hobart House, International Studies Residential College, North and South Mid-Quads, PARC, Shepard, Rogers House and Willard.
“It’s ridiculous that the cafeteria is closed (on the weekend) when no one gave us a reason,” said Weinberg sophomore Whitney Schaffer, a returning Allison resident. “What is the rationale in closing Allison since so many more kids live here than in Hinman?”
Shepard President Brandon Odoi, a Medill sophomore, agreed.
“Hinman is not suitable for the amount of people that eat on the weekends,” he said.
The Allison dining hall accommodates 648 diners; 1835 Hinman holds 557.
But some residents of 1835 Hinman said they were happy they could eat in their dorm now on Sundays.
“It’s really nice to see a variety of people in the dining hall,” said McCormick sophomore Lizzy Cahill, a second-year resident of 1835 Hinman. “It’s more of a dining experience.”
Cahill said she didn’t feel sorry for Allison residents because she had to walk there through the cold to eat on Sunday nights last year.
In Allison, Schauer said, the dining hall change has caused confusion since the start of the year.
She said she received an e-mail from NU in July informing all dorm presidents that Allison’s dining hall would be closed on weekends. Adding to the confusion, the dining hall was open on the weekend during New Student Week.
That’s why Schauer wrote the petition two weeks ago lobbying NU to reopen Allison on weekends.
“For the convenience of Northwestern students, and due to the quality and capacity of Allison’s dining facilities, Allison Dining Hall should be open for Sunday brunch and Sunday dinner,” Schauer wrote. “We believe this change to be in the best interest of the residents of Allison Hall, Willard, Shepard, SMQ, NMQ, Rogers House, Hobart House, PARC, and the rest of the campus.”
Andrew Navidzadeh, the Allison food service manager, said he learned Allison would not serve food on weekends when he was hired in July.
Navidzadeh also said NU still is reviewing the interim schedule. But according to the Sodexho Marriott Web site (www.northwestern.edu/diningservices), Allison’s dining hall will remain closed on weekends after the interim schedule ends in November.
According to the interim schedule, 1835 Hinman will be open on Saturdays from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch and 4:45 to 7:00 p.m. for dinner, and on Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. for brunch and 4:45 to 7 p.m. for dinner.
