This editorial represents the opinion of The Bona Venture staff.
As soon as the clock strikes 12:20 on weekdays, people rush to the Hickey Dining Hall, anxious to get lunch. Bonaventure students and faculty skim over food options trying to figure out what to eat.
However,the real challenge begins after students choose their meal.
It’s extremely frustrating to have a limited break for lunch and socialization without the ability to find a seat. Some students must wait and hope something opens up.
Thankfully, the university has noticed the issue and began taking steps to alleviate the seating problem this year.
It’s hard for students to miss the new hole in the wall where a set of steel doors used to be by the dishwasher in the Hickey. The new passageway contains a staircase leading to the much-needed overflow seating in the Skeller.
But the Skeller isn’t the only place officially open to overflow Hickey seating. Café La Verna has always been available for students to use.
“The food section of La Verna was designed for overflow seating,” said Brenda McGee, senior vice president of finance said. “The Hickey serves over 500 meals between 12:15 and 1:30, and over 2,200 meals a day. We saw the need for extra seating and did our best to accommodate.”
Unless students have access to a kitchen or have money to spend at the RC or Cafe La Verna, the Hickey is the easiest way to get a meal during the day.
Many students at St. Bonaventure can say they’ve had to spend a lunch period pacing around La Verna or waiting for a table to open up in the Hickey. For McGee, the Skeller seemed like another reasonable option.
“Both the Student Government Association and Dining Services led discussions about how the Hickey wasn’t accommodating all the students,” McGee said. “The Rathskeller was one of the least-utilized places on campus and it’s right below the Hickey.”
McGee also stated the University Club dining room above the Hickey is another place available for student use if seating shortages demand it.
Students should utilize the new options that the university has provided. Instead of spending the hour-long lunch break scavenging for a table before inhaling their food, students can more easily find tables. Extra seating is available just down the stairs.
As of now, the Rathskeller only has a handful of tables for student use but, if need be, more tables will be added. McGee said that if adjustments need to be made, they will do whatever they can to help.
McGee also spoke of even more improvements in the future that will hopefully make the Hickey lunch rush a little easier.
“In the spring, we will be trying some scheduling changes on a trial basis,” McGee said. “We will continually monitor the situation, and if more changes need to happen, we will work on them.”
The next time you are enjoying your lunch, whether it be in the Hickey, the Rathskeller, the University Club or La Verna, keep in mind the efforts made by the finance and business department and the rest of the university to make student life a little easier.
