Today: Mar 28, 2024

Less food available for more operating hours at Connecticut Hall

Ellie SherryReporter

Over the past few years Connecticut Hall has had varying hours. However, Last year the hall closed at 9 p.m. but this year it is open until 10 p.m.

The change was made because there were students and athletes who were getting out of class or practice late, and at that period of time Connecticut Hall was closed.

The university saw an issue with this and decided to change the hours of operation.

The university also considered student feedback when making the decision.

At the end of last year there were surveys done, in which many students voiced that they wanted Conn Hall to be open later.

Robert Ponte the Resident District Manager who oversees all the venues at Southern said, “The voice of the students [said] that they wanted it to be open a little bit later.”

“I know a lot of teams would come back from practice or a game and we would be closed at 9, so there wasn’t really an option for them,” said Ponte.

The university partnered with Chartwells, then came up with ways to keep Conn. open an extra hour without occuring more cost.”

However, while the University did listen to the students and keep Conn. Hall open an extra hour, there were some sacrifices that had to be made.

One of these is a “late night menu” as Ponte put it. There are less stations open during this extra hour.

Ponte also said, “The agreement that was made between the university and Chartwells was that so there was no extra cost, we would go down to a late night menu.”

The stations that are still open are: the grill station, the walk, pizza, and then they bring a shortened version of the deli and the salad bar up to the front according to Ponte.

Student Government Association representative, biochemistry major Carlos Lopez a junior said, “I like the extra hour at Conn because it provides students with the option to still be able to go and get something to eat, considering some students have class until late at night. I feel like it might be used by some students but definitely not the majority of students.”

He said some of the issues SGA was concerned with are with the gluten- free secure area and how there seems to be low stocking in it. There are chairs being stacked and areas being closed off before the advertised closing time, that there are limited food items, and sometimes there are not enough utensils.

Lopez isn’t the only one who noticed these issues.

Jaylon Nixon a first year health care studies major said, “ I think Conn having an extra hour is okay. It is not the best but its not the worst. Sometimes when I go, there are barely any options to choose from so it can get hard, but having an extra hour is good for people who have practice or class late. It’s just hard because sometimes it’s like what can you really eat?”

Photo credit: Izzy Manzo

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