Not everyone left the University for Spring Break last week, and some students who chose to stay encountered difficulties adjusting to the closures of Newcomb Hall, Runk and O-Hill.
"The food situation was very hard," first-year College student Amanda Chase said.
Chase said she stayed on Grounds for practices with the crew team. She said this allowed her to have a car, which made getting food a little easier.
"We went to Harris Teeter to get a lot of groceries that we could cook in a microwave," Chase said. "But that's very limited, so we went out at nighttime to get dinner."
Similarly, first-year College student Andrej Kiska went to Harris Teeter to get food for the week and a friend with a car took him to downtown Charlottesville to eat dinner a few times.
"Without the car we would've been really screwed," Kiska said.
Although the major dining halls were closed, some of the smaller retail locations such as Java City at the bookstore, Alderman Library and the West Range Café were open for limited hours.
"The dining halls are open for the masses, for the large amount of students," said Eddie Whedbee, director of operations for University Dining Services. "It's not expected that you keep a full dining hall service open to handle a few people."
Whedbee said he understands that students who stay on Grounds are often vocal about their complaints, but that smaller locations are open to try to accommodate their needs.
The dining halls were also closed in consideration of the employees who work there.
"They all count on that spring break off to get ready for the last weeks of school when everyone's busy -- that little breather before the end of the year," Whedbee said.
Although the smaller retail locations were open, some students said the selection was not as great.
"Some days the Poolside Café was open, but they had like two sandwiches and strawberries, so there wasn't really anything to buy or eat," Kiska said.
Fast food stores also provided an alternative to microwave food and the University's options.
"I probably ate out every night of the week, going to Taco Bell or McDonald's or anywhere like that," third-year College student Alex Hannagan said.
Hannigan stayed in Charlottesville for the break for his internship.
While these alternatives might have been more appealing to students, they also cost money outside of the student meal plan.
Chase was allotted $135 for the week from the crew team, but she was not completely satisfied with her options.
"It's kind of hard," Chase said. "Your coaches want you to eat healthy, but with only 15 dollars a day, it's hard to get healthy food."
Whedbee said the practice of closing dining halls during spring breaks is common across the country, so students should not expect them to be open during future Spring Breaks.
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