Late Night Dining trial program begins at Carmichael Dining Center

Late Night Dining was available for the first time in Carmichael Dining Center on Friday, Feb. 26, following the announcement from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate during its Feb. 15 meeting. In addition to the late night meal services at the Commons Marketplace at the Mayer Campus Center, Carmichael now offers Late Night Dining on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in its standard buffet style.  

According to TCU Senate President Brian Tesser, who first announced the expansion at the Senate meeting, the Carmichael Late Night Dining program is in a trial period for the semester. Its future depending on the program's performance this semester, it will be kept or discarded, Tesser, a senior, said.  The Late Night Dining program at Carmichael differs from the one at the Commons in that the new trial program follows the standard buffet-style dining method that Carmichael uses for its daytime meal service. Students can use a meal swipe to enter the dining hall and can linger inside for as long as the dining hall is open, with access to all the food being served.

On Saturday night, food options included cheese pizza, a burrito station, macaroni and cheese, french fries and buffalo chicken patties, along with the usual assortment of drinks. These options differed from those available on the opening night on Friday, which included hamburgers, hotdogs and meatball submarine sandwiches. The menu items are set to rotate.

Several students voiced that they enjoyed the style of Late Night at Carmichael more than the system at the Commons, despite the smaller selection of food to a typical meal in Carmichael.

Students are allowed one Late Night meal swipe into Carmichael per night as part of a Premium meal plan. For students with limited dining plans, a visit to Late Night subtracts one meal from their total amount of meals, just as any visit to the dining halls would do during normal meal times. For students with no meal plan, JumboCash and cash are accepted during Late Night hours, according to Tesser. It costs $11.68 to enter Carmichael during Late Night hours. In the Commons, the JumboCash and cash equivalent is $9.34, according to the Late Night Flyer. Guest swipes are not accepted during these hours.

The Late Night Dining program was started at the beginning of Spring 2014, when the TCU Senate approved a resolution to expand late night options on campus, leading the Commons Marketplace to begin to accept meal swipes from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, according to a Jan. 29, 2014 Daily story. It resumed operation after undergoing renovation in Spring 2015, a Sept. 21, 2015 Daily story said. 

Following some behavioral issues, the hours of Late Night were reduced later that semester to run 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. This time, change has persisted, and after resolving more behavioral issues earlier this year, the expansion to Carmichael has been the first major change.

Accordingly, on Saturday night, one Tufts University Police Department officer was on duty to monitor the students in the dining area and support the reception area. There appeared to be no disruption or trouble over the course of the Late Night hours.