By Brianna Wallen
News Editor
For many students, the biggest surprise this semester was not on the syllabus but rather on the menu.
With the Adanti Student Center Food Court now closing at 4 p.m., students were left shocked and frustrated. Robert DeMezzo, the senior director for conferencing, events and student affairs auxiliaries, said the decision was driven by financial challenges that made the cut unavoidable.
“The bottom line is, the time frame costs students more than it brings in revenue,” DeMezzo said. “If this were a private business, it would be different, but we are a public university. That means it takes away from other student resources.”
DeMezzo explained that administrators monitored the food court in 15-minute intervals and tracked the number of people who utilized the food court throughout the day.
Those numbers were then compared with the expenses of keeping the space open later, including staffing and operations.
DeMezzo said the data showed that there were not enough students accessing the food court in the evenings to justify the cost, leading to the decision of an early shutdown.
“It was a fact that students who were not eating there at that time were kind of paying for students who were,” DeMezzo said.
DeMezzo said the change was ultimately an institutional decision, but students had a voice in the process.
He noted that the decision involved consultation with university leadership, student affairs and the finance administration, with student representatives included in the discussions to ensure that their perspectives were heard.
“Every year, the university really is trying to balance the financial needs of the institution with the financial strain on students,” DeMezzo said. “It’s our responsibility to keep those costs under control because we don’t want to drive up costs.”
Despite the university’s financial concerns, the decision has sparked outrage among students who rely solely on the food court for their meals.
Psychology major Kash Patrick-William, a senior, said that the dining hours being sliced has stirred frustration among students and herself.
“Closing Stu early is a waste of time,” Patrick-William said. “Stu should be open until 6, the earliest, so it gives people time to get food and eat.”
Patrick-William said that with her classes stretching from 2 p.m. until 8:45 p.m., she is left without a chance to grab a meal at the food court.
“We have late classes and want to leave and eat something good at Stu and not Conn all the time,” Patrick-William said.
Patrick-William also explained that the food court’s reliable options of Peking Plate, SubConnections, The Grill and Tres Habaneros are her go-to comfort meals.
“Stu has the same thing every day, and sometimes, I like eating the same thing,” Patrick-William said. “And some days, Conn offers weird things like broccoli in their pizza.”
In the past, these retail dining destinations closed at later times.
Last semester, the food court closed at 6 p.m, while the year before that, operations ended at 10 p.m..
This new cut off will be an adjustment for students to adapt to.
Although the food court hours are cut short, DeMezzo said other dining options are still available throughout campus for students to utilize.
DeMezoo also adds that new additions were made.
“We made sure Dunkin’ Donuts stayed open, and the Bagel Wagon has expanded some of the sandwiches and stuff that they sell,” DeMezzo said. “If a student would go hungry, at four o’clock, Connecticut Hall opens. That was all very intentional.”
