By Ashley Nave
KU recently announced a new meal plan, called MyTime Dining. As the first Pennsylvania college and university to have this style of dining, there are four main sectors to this plan, plus a take-out option.
Two of the options are for students who are required to have meal plans, and the other two are for students who live in the on-campus apartments, off-campus or are commuters.
In the last few weeks of summer, dining services has responded to student concerns by
adding a take-out option. This option appeals to art students, being that this feature is located next to the art building in the Cub Café.
The unlimited swipes and all-you-can-eat access process took about two years. KU hopes this will allow lenient accessibility to the wide variety of menu items at the retail locations with students having unlimited entry and unlimited food during the hours of operation.
The amount of guest meals nearly doubled per student, mostly depending on the plan, which allows visitors more access to KU’s dining services. Flex dollars can be used at any of the seven retail locations across campus.
Starting Aug. 27, 2016, the new and returning students were the first to experience the one-swipe access to the buffet-style dining. Students were pleased and excited to see the new layout of the South Dining Hall area, just as they were excited for the Cub Café’s grand opening last semester.
“When I heard the South Dining Hall was getting redone, I didn’t think it would look this amazing. The additions are exciting, especially since we can eat upstairs and downstairs using only one swipe. My friends at other colleges definitely don’t have this,” said Avery Thompson, a KU junior.
According to Kent Dahlquist, one goal of the renovations was to make South Dining Hall a friendly environment for students to hang out and meet new people. The newest additions to the dining hall include pool tables, shuffleboards, lounge chairs, a cozy fireplace and a gaming room upstairs complete with a PlayStation 3 and Xbox One.
“When I heard about the new plan this summer, I was nervous, but after it was explained to me, I was like, ‘Wow, I understand why it’s all-you-can-eat and that there was a lot of food being wasted before,” said Thompson. “It’s a better plan for everyone all around.”
The accessibility and new layout are accommodations for the students and there is a greater variety in food. On the first floor of South Dining Hall, there are four new dining stations, including a grill, a coffee shop, Italian style food and a self-serve breakfast nook.
On the upper level of the dining hall, there are also four new stations called Char, Noodle & ‘Wich, Sushi, and Sear. The Sear section features Teppanyaki style cooking, located in the center of the second floor.
On top of the new selections, the campus has also upgraded to a tier four dining plan provided by the Aramark Company, which is the highest possible quality of food available.