The University of Ottawa (U of O) announced March 6 it will be introducing a new and improved 24/7 dining hall at the start of the next school year, claiming it will “reinvent” the way their students eat.
Also offered in the new 20,000 square-foot space will be an all-you-can-eat option, as well as more vegetarian and gluten-free choices.
But Anne-Marie Roy, president of U of O’s student federation (SFUO), said these new choices come at a price.
“We’ve had a lot of issues with our food sources over the past few years and this is what it’s come to,” Roy said.
While the all-night availability and waffle station might sound appealing, the new dining hall will require all first-year residence applicants to pay for a mandatory meal plan.
Also, students will not be able to freely walk into the dining hall anymore. Much like Carleton University’s cafeteria, students will have to pay a base price in order to enter, and will not be allowed to bring in any outside food or bags.
As a member of the dining committee, Roy has been against several aspects of the new dining hall plans and said they are not something the student federation has been pushing for or supports. The SFUO has had many problems with Chartwells, U of O’s current food supplier, Roy said.
“Chartwells doesn’t consult with us or take our feedback, they just make the decisions,” she said. “We were against the dining hall change from the beginning because they insisted on mandatory meal plans. Now the plans are being carried through regardless of the cost or hassle it will impose for future and current students.”
U of O student Morgan Law agreed, and said she knows many people are not happy with the mandatory meal plans which will accompany the new cafeteria.
“It will even make it harder for people like me who are living in suite-style residence,” she said.
Carleton students said they are less than thrilled with the idea of an overnight dining hall, although the idea of an all-night Tim Hortons was more popular.
Out of 16 Carleton students who commented, only two were in favour of a 24/7 availability. The rest mentioned concerns with the practicality of the dining hall, especially with the increase in tuition or living fees it might implicate and the food it could waste.
Carleton student Mohab Abd said he thinks a 24/7 dining hall would be an “unnecessary expense,” especially for students unable to “take full advantage” of a mandatory plan.
“When you take into account the fact that many students aren’t here on weekends, aren’t here some days of the week or aren’t here past a certain time in the day, it just doesn’t make sense,” Abd said.
