Butler University Dining Services has made efforts to adjust to the larger student body on campus.
Students who eat at Residential College’s Dining Room might have noticed changes in the number of seats available during the lunch hours.
Food Service Director Stacy Puck said dining services has added 70 addtional chairs to accomodate the large lunch crowd.
The dining hall can now hold 330 people at any given time, as opposed to the previous 260.
While adding more chairs and rearranging tables has helped a little with the wait time for students, Puck said the volume of students has not changed.
“We serve 380 students before 12:15 on some days,” Puck said.
Previously, students would dine outside in the lobby if there was no room inside, but this is no longer allowed.
Puck said these new enforcements are natural and keep the dining halls safer.
When it comes to which dining hall is being frequented most often, ResCo or Atherton, Puck says that, according to the statistics, traffic has stayed pretty constant between the two.
She recommends that students find the most convenient time to eat to minimize overcrowding at peak times during the day.
Students are encouraged to avoid the lunch rush from 12-12:30 p.m. everyday, but especially on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Following the first few weeks of school, students often figure this out themselves and the large crowds usually let up, she said.
Most students will often fluctuate between the two dining halls that are open for lunch depending on what is on the menu that day or their schedules.
However, many students, like sophomore Kelly Hunter, simply prefer one dining option over the other.
“The food at ResCo is just better,” Hunter said.
Junior Maureen Bamiro said Atherton Marketplace has made improvements in their menu options.
“I think Atherton is making a good effort,” she said.
Even though major changes haven’t been necessary, dining services has seen some slight changes in the way things are being done.
“Over the prior year, it’s comparable,” said Puck of the traffic that the dining halls have been seeing.
In an e-mail from dining services, students were encouraged to try and contribute to “easing the lunch crunch.”
To maximize the seating at each table, students should share tables, the e-mail said.
Students were also advised to take conversations out to the lobby to free up some space and to eat at Atherton Marketplace when the line stretches out into the lobby.
Both dining halls are open for lunch 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
