Geneseo dining halls: improved?

Returners’ reactions to changes

Photo Courtesy of SUNY Geneseo

If you have attended Geneseo for more than a week, you are likely familiar with the general attitude of students toward our three illustrious dining halls—Mary Jemison, Red Jacket, and Letchworth—namely, one of distaste and frustration. However, if you are a new student this year, you might not know or understand the nuances of our student opinions, and how they have shifted since last Spring. Luckily for you, as a third-year student here at Geneseo, I am happy to explain what exactly has changed.

Walking into Mary Jemison (MJ) dining hall this August was a shocking experience. Entering from the upper-level—the entrance facing east—returning students immediately noticed a change in atmosphere; the pathway to swipe your ID began at the entrance, where before it was sidelined, a pit-stop you made after acquiring your item from Smoothies or the Deli. Once one turned to examine where said pit-stop used to be, it became clear that this path was not the only change initiated over the course of the summer. Where Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) employees used to take and make orders for smoothies, açaí bowls, and parfaits, the station is now entirely self-serve. 

This is likely the most controversial and talked about change of the many executed since Spring. Students, upon first experiencing the change, instantly noted the potential negatives. Criticism and speculation raged in the first few days on campus; like me, you might have even heard initial rumours that MJ no longer had açaí bowls at all. Thankfully, this rumor was unfounded, though other criticisms of the new system were still abundant. 

One student remarked that she “didn’t really like [the changes] at first,” noting that she “still [doesn’t] like the smoothie one.” Students are “scared to make [their] own” smoothies, feel that their self-made smoothies “always end up kinda bad,” must frequently ask present CAS employees for help, and note that “it’s also messier when people do it themselves.” Some students are frustrated with the inability to mobile order items under the self-serve system, though others note that the system was potentially successful in “reduc[ing] wait times.”

Regardless of individual student qualms, everyone seemed to agree that the changes were not a net positive, with one popular YikYak post gaining over 500 upvotes during the first week of classes: “@zohranmamdani can you fix MJ.” 

This self-serve system at MJ Smoothies was not, however, the only change initiated in the dining halls over the summer. In an Aug. 24 Facebook post, CAS provided a list of some of the many alterations and additions from the summer, ranging from “new dining options and expanded allergen-friendly choices” to “refreshed spaces and a new location for ID Card Services.” One student noted that they actually “like the ID card system better now,” where students in MJ “can walk in and out freely and not have people checking [their] receipt[s] and ID[s] every time.” 

More specific changes mentioned in the CAS Facebook post include Origins at Red Jacket—“bringing bold Asian-inspired flavors and build-your-own options, including Gyudon Bowls and Rice Bowls”—a “cold Asian salad bar” at MJ, and expanded “allergen-friendly options” at Clean Eats. As students have taken time to explore these new options while mourning what has changed, one student notes that, at this point, “people have probably adjusted” to the changes already—what was once shocking is now familiar. 

Another student commented, “I like most of the changes in CAS and feel they don’t impact my life drastically,” and instead called attention to “the lack of human connection … that students have with CAS workers.” This student encourages others to focus on that human connection rather than dwelling on negative changes, emphasizing the importance of “ask[ing] how their day is going or if they are excited for the weekend.” 

All in all, as the semester progresses, we find that those little interactions mean more to us than the details of the dining hall operations. We are all adjusting to these changes in time—and I think we can all agree that even if MJ is not what it used to be, it is certainly still miles ahead of Letchworth.