IT IS Monday, 1:15 p.m., at Newcomb Dining Hall and I wait in line for several minutes before entering. "Ok, I can deal with this," I say to myself. After all, this is the peak time for lunch.
Inside, the entire place is teeming with disgruntled students, me included. The food queues are long as usual but something is terribly wrong with this picture. No one was serving food in some queues.
University dining halls are plagued by severe staffing inadequacies which contribute to an uncomfortable atmosphere and deplorable service during times at which the dining halls are the busiest. The crux of the matter is that crowded lines are the locus of other problems plaguing University dining halls, especially wastefulness. It is thus necessary to resolve the issue of over-crowdedness.
Often times, students head into the dining halls with sufficient time set aside to eat before classes. In spite of this, the fact that it is crowded and that the student cannot reasonably foresee this complication creates the problem in which the student unintentionally wastes their food. "A lot of times, I'm really hungry but I can't finish my food because I have class," says Brinkley Faulcon, a third year. This suggests that the problem is that by the time the student sits down to eat, it is almost time for the student to attend class or other engagements.
In one particular line -- the pasta line next to the pizza line -- at Newcomb Dining Hall, movement was static because of missing staff. Meanwhile, several staff members casually pushed carts to and from one of the kitchen doors. Nearly 10 minutes later, one of the workers nonchalantly returned and finally began dishing out the pasta.
At O-Hill Dining Hall, there is a similar problem. I noticed that on the board of suggestions, a student complained of the dining hall being far too crowded. Sims responded to this complaint by noting staffing problems. Could Newcomb Dining Hall be facing a similar issue?
According to Brent Barringer, the director of University dining, the answer is no. If this is the case, then there must an alternative solution to hiring more employees. "Some folks have multiple responsibilities. Some folks are assigned specifically to a station," Barringer adds. He seems to already have a solution here. If some "folk" do have multiple responsibilities already, University dining should desperately strive for greater versatility among workers in order to cater to inundated lines.
A larger presence of workers who can perform a greater array of functions could offer their superiors more facility in redirecting them to more problematic areas during peak hours.
To accomplish this, the managers should be more aware of their employees and whether they are doing their job properly. There is, "a whole host of folks from hourly supervisors to the managers at the particular locations," Barringer says. Given that this is true, then it is perplexing as to why there is even the problem of temporary worker absence.
He also mentions that "folks who can eat at 12:30, 11:30 tend to see a lot shorter lines than the folks who come at 1:00." The suggestion is particularly irksome because students should not and cannot alter their schedules for the dining hall. Rather, the dining halls should hold a greater obligation to accommodate student needs.
In short, the issue of poor service and a congested environment has made a trip to the dining hall an irritating endeavor. Students need food and in a reasonable amount of time. For this reason, it is imperative that staff responsbilities be refined and expanded.
For now, it seems as though the last glimmering light in University dining is the good-natured and spirited Kathy, the card swiper of Newcomb Dining Hall.
Charles Lee is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint writer.
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