The well-worn food locale, Lakeside Dining, will close at the start of spring break for renovations and improvements for future students and will remain closed the rest of the school year. These changes include a remodel of the food stations and additional seating on the second floor, as well as new selections like a grab-n-go fridge and street taco station.
However, current students will face one less place on campus to get food with meal swipes. Especially for freshmen, Lakeside is in proximity to most of the on-campus housing and has late-night hours which allow students to meet new people and grab a late-night snack.
“I go to Lakeside seven to ten times a week,” said Brooke Schoepp, a freshman majoring in civil engineering. “I’m annoyed they are closing because that’s the closest dining hall to me. I will miss Late Night [Lakeside], and I’m afraid the alternate option they put in place aren’t as convenient.”
Bama Dining has accommodated for those students who rely on meal plans by expanding the hours of the non-athletic dining halls, Burke and Fresh Food Company. The accommodations made for those who hold the average meal plan package has also expanded to include the food markets found around campus and at Topio’s in the Ferguson Student Center.
The distance, however, is a negative factor for students who live opposite the other two dining halls as well as for students who have classes late at night. Mackenzie Robb, a freshman majoring in nursing, said while the changes help some, it will negatively impact others.
“I appreciate that the school is allowing more places to take meal swipes, but I wish they would extend the hours of the other dining halls more,” Robb said. “I know Fresh Food’s hours got expanded to 9 but to my knowledge, I don’t know if there is any dining hall that will be open really late like Lakeside was. It’s inconvenient for students who get out of class at 9 and don’t have any place to go to dinner afterwards.”
Next year’s incoming freshman class will have new resources and a sparkling new dining hall, but for those who are currently on-campus residents, they will not benefit from these new change.
“The students who thought they had access to Lakeside this semester won’t be eating at the dining halls next year so they won’t get the benefits of the remodel,” Schoepp said.
More information about the changes to the dining hall hours and the locations on campus that will be accepting meal swipes can be found on the Bama Dining website.
