The Tufts Community Union Senate last night approved a resolution for the addition of a late-night dining option to Tufts Dining Services facilities. Given the current lack of late-night dining options on campus, the resolution is an important one that the university should seriously consider. Students often find themselves without on-campus eateries that accept the meal plan after the dining halls have closed. Students with activities that go past 7:30 p.m. on Friday or study sessions that last well into the night have limited choices when it comes to finding a bite to eat.
In light of this, it would be worthwhile for the university to consider providing a dining option that accepts the meal plan for students who dont want to leave campus or order in on the weekends after 7:30 p.m. Hodgdon Good-to-Go, which closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays and at 4 p.m. on Fridays for the weekend, seems to be the best candidate for late-night dining. The only other late-night dining options, Jumbo Express and The Commons Deli and Grill, close at midnight and do not accept meal plan swipes only cash, JumboCash or credit/debit cards.
Extending the Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers hours until 9 p.m. on the weekends, as well as Carmichael Dining Centers hours until 9 p.m. on Fridays, could also be a worthwhile consideration, as the extra hour and a half would not require any radical changes to the current system.
Some might object to an extension of the dining hall hours, as this could require current staff to work longer hours or the employment of additional university chefs and custodial staff. However, Tufts could use these vacancies as an opportunity to offer more work-study jobs to students who qualify.
Hodgdon could offer day and night rotations for student workers. This would create more opportunities for work-study hours for nocturnally-inclined students, while allowing more flexible hour choices for non-student workers. Similarly, in the larger dining halls, a longer dinner window would give work-study students the opportunity to work more during later hours. Non-student employees would be able to return home at a time of their choosing.
There may also be concerns that late-night dining will hurt local businesses. It should be noted, however, that a substantial portion of students cannot afford to eat outside of their meal plan and therefore have no options after the dining halls close. Additionally, the late-night dining hall options would still be entirely different from the food offered by local businesses, so any students who wanted sushi or a Blue Zone would still need to look off campus to find such food options.
Perhaps one of the most important points about extending dining hall hours isnt exactly the most obvious; it has to do with ensuring safe alcohol practices. Whether it be the new medical amnesty and Good Samaritan alcohol policy or the addition of pizza to Spring Fling, Tufts is clearly committed to combating dangerous alcohol use with sensible solutions rather than punishments. A late-night dining service would bolster this effort, providing students with access to food when they are more likely to abuse alcohol.
The lack of university-sponsored, late-night dining options that accept the meal plan is a more serious issue than it appears. Beyond the time barrier for those who rely on meal plans as their only source of food, meal plan-accepting, late-night dining options on campus may also be beneficial to students health.
