Each year, and now term, seemingly, Union students are welcomed with changes to their dining halls. The theme for this term’s change is self-service. In Reamer’s Dining Hall, students now have access to a fruit and yogurt bowl station, as well as a sandwich station, both of which are self-service. Regarding Dutch, there is now a self-service noodle bar. In continuation, the convenience store provides students with grab-and-go options.
One of the more popular changes is the fruit bowl station. Here, students can make a smoothie bowl with bases like açai, overnight oats, and yogurts. They can then pair those with various frozen and fresh fruits. Finally, to top things off, there is granola, coconut flakes, honey, and some other offerings. Located next to the fruit bowl station is where you will find the blenders, too.
This station has replaced where the sandwiches in Reamer Dining Hall used to be made. The sandwich area has now moved to where the original smoothie station was. Students can select their own bread from the bread drawers on the shelf above the counter. After picking their bread, students have a more limited amount of choices than they would at 807 Deli. Usually, there is only turkey and ham to choose from for proteins. However, many cheeses are available, and the variety of sauces seems tasty. After assembling their sandwiches, students have the ability to press their own sandwiches in a panini press.
When asked about these changes to various Union Students. Lilly Moore ‘28 had some interesting opinions, “I love the new açai station, I get it all the time now. But, I do wish they kept it where the yogurt was last term and that the sandwich station was in its old place.”
Elsa Dorrance ‘26 misses having her daily interactions with our lovely dining staff. She claims that the self-service takes away a “community aspect,” which she used to appreciate.
At Dutch, students can now put various ingredients together to make a delicious cup of ramen. There is a choice of noodles followed by a vast array of toppings from seaweed salad to a soy-cured egg, nori pieces, and chilli crunch oil. Following these steps, students can then choose their broth, usually a choice of a vegan/vegetarian broth or a protein based broth. After this, students have a choice of protein with chicken or some sort of tofu creation.
Gwyn Connor ‘27 loves this noodle station, “I love all the different options for toppings like the different vegetables and sauces.”
With all of these changes, there is one concern that is quite evident: sanitation. Students are not required to wash their hands or wear gloves before using any of these stations. Dorrance also had a concern regarding this: “ I am just worried about a norovirus or something like that because it is no longer just one person doing things; everyone can touch the stuff.”
These self-service dining changes also present the question of where the staff have gone due to these changes. About three years ago, every weekend, Dutch was open from morning to night, Reamer Dining Hall served brunch and dinner, and Rathskeller was open from the afternoon to midnight. This past weekend, my friends and I were excited to get a burger from Dutch, so from CPH we soldiered up to Reamer. When we arrived at 2PM, we were stunned by the closed gate. Annoyed, we went to the convenience store, only to find no food options on the shelves. As a last resort, we trekked upstairs to Reamer Dining Hall. We remembered about the grill, and for a second, we had a glimmer of hope that our original idea for a burger dinner would be fulfilled. Alas, the entire station was closed last night. This left the self-service pasta station as a final, and somewhat sad, ending to this journey.
All in all, changes have made both positive and negative impacts on Union students. Some are ecstatic about acai bowls and noodle bars, while others are left disappointed with hours of operation and questionable sanitation precautions.
