Dining during a pandemic: a critique

It’s been over two months of school, and students have had the chance to experience all that USD has to offer — including its food. 

Now, if you’re anything like me, you love to eat. But we also need to eat. Which brings us to the main issue at hand — campus dining isn’t up to par. 

It is hard to discuss the current state of the cafeteria without remembering that COVID-19 is a thing. Whilst being new to the cafeteria scene here at USD as a freshman, I am unfamiliar as to how it was operating pre-pandemic. The pandemic has put a lot of dining options out of commission for the foreseeable future. However, that doesn’t make the current options any more promising.  

I’m sure many of those reading this know pretty much all of what the kitchen are currently serving. You have the pizza, the burger, the salad option and whatever the main meal for the time is. I can say that in my first few weeks here, I ate a cheeseburger three times a week, sometimes more. I have found that most of the meals that I’ve tried, truthfully, didn’t have much flavor. 

I’d like to see the inclusion of longer breakfast hours. Currently, it ends at ten in the morning. But most college students have classes at eight or nine that prevent them from getting to eat breakfast at the dining hall. 

By no means am I asking for a five-star meal, that would get expensive. Instead, I think it’d be nice to get excited about having to go to the dining hall, with a reason not to just use flex money at Chick-Fil-A or Qdoba instead.  

I’d imagine that those with specific diet restrictions, such as vegetarian and veganism have a very difficult time finding something to eat that fits their needs. If there are diet specific options available, I’m not seeing them, and I’d imagine that many of those with these needs aren’t either.  

And I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what the answer would be in this oddly specific time we are in at the moment. But it looks as if we are going to be in this situation for a lot longer than I’m sure any of us thought. I think our dining could adjust accordingly to fit more people’s needs.