The Problems with Closing One of the Most Popular Spots on Campus
Here is a scenario for you. You have two classes in Lafayette Hall and a ten-minute break between them. You haven’t eaten all morning and would like a snack. You walk into the Lafayette cafeteria to get a snack, but you encounter a slight problem. The cafeteria is closed. To make matters worse, you look outside, and the weather is bad. Now you must make the trek to Beacon Hall to get your snack. To top everything off, the line in the Beacon Hall cafeteria is super long. Eventually you get your snack and make the trek back to class in Lafayette. You walk in and see that you missed the first 15 minutes of class.
It may not be snowing anymore (thankfully) but some students are still feeling the inconvenience of the Lafayette cafeteria closing. Now if students want something to eat in school, they must go to Beacon Hall.
The two entrances to the cafeteria are surrounded with warning signs to keep students from trying to enter (Photo by author.)
Niles Wilson is one of the students on campus that is not a fan of only having one cafeteria.
“The lines in the Beacon cafeteria are way too long. It takes forever to get in and out,” said Wilson.
With only one cafeteria, all the traffic is forced to Beacon, instead of being split between the two cafeterias.
“Instead of getting a hot dog or something quickly, I now have to worry about being late for class,” said Wilson.
Usually the first few minutes of classes are filled with important information, and it is crucial that students are there for those. Students are now faced with the tough decision of missing class, or missing lunch.
Housatonic student, Jassmyn Gonzalez shared her experience with the Beacon cafeteria.
“I had 20 minutes before class to get something, and I was not able to because of the lines,” said Gonzalez.
With the Lafayette cafeteria being closed, students also have a little of a longer walk to and from Beacon as well.
“When it is cold…the longer walk can suck, but I’d much rather have shorter lines, than a shorter walk,” said Gonzalez.
Housatonic student Gina Ricco is an avid user of the cafeterias on campus. Ricco has similar concerns.
“When groups of people get in line, they block everything and make it impossible to get to the register,” said Ricco.
The area where the line forms is on the smaller side. Widening that could help with the flow of traffic.
Ricco also gave her thoughts on what she hopes the new Lafayette Cafeteria will look like.
“I hope that the new cafeteria is prettier than what it used to be. Better too.” said Ricco.
One Housatonic student, Ken Kubel, has found some positives in having one cafeteria.
“It’s more convenient. I know exactly where my friends are now if they tell me they are going to get lunch. Everything is in one place,” said Kubel.
The construction to Lafayette Hall, which includes the main entrance to the building, as well as the cafeteria is not expected to be complete until 2017. This means that students will have to make having just one cafeteria work for now.