Bright lights and clean tables. New walls and less space. Atherton cafeteria is now a modernized space, with few new dining options and lots of new structure. A once cozy, old, creaky and comfortable place for community is now cold, cramped and sterile.
This past summer, Atherton Union underwent renovations, and during that time students were kept in the dark about what it would look like or what the updates meant for them. The reveal was disappointing. For many reasons.
It doesn’t feel like what Butler is known for: pretty architecture and a snuggly woody feel, like a home away from home. Atherton has turned into a brightly colored, sterile and almost hospital-like version of what the cafeteria used to be.
Junior psychology major Rowen Rosario explained his perspective on the renovations.
“Its definitely a lot less homey,” Rosario said. “It is very sterile and bright. It just doesn’t feel like somewhere you eat; it feels weird. I don’t like the appearance of it, but I think that if the appearance had changed and the options had also changed and gotten better, I would have cared less about the way it looks.”
Besides the appearance, the food options have also changed. The salad bar and sandwich station has largely expanded in its options and size. There is a new, expanded dessert section. But overall, the food options didn’t get a makeover like the rest of the cafe did.
The new structure has caused more problems for those with dietary restrictions. Rather than providing more options for vegetarians, peanut-free, vegan, gluten-free or pescatarians, Butler has reduced those options.
Ginny Weykamp, a junior psychology and sociology-anthropology double major, discussed their experience as a celiac student.
“It is a little frustrating on campus when there is not always a good option,” Weykamp said. “I have not noticed an expansion of gluten-free food. But a noticeable change [is] that there used to be a gluten-free section, and that is no longer [in Atherton]. So it is a little bit frustrating.”
Weykamp isn’t the only one who’s struggling with these changes.
Sophomore psychology major Nadia Ball expressed her struggles with eating at Atherton as someone with a gluten allergy.
“The gluten-free options are extremely limited, and sometimes when there are gluten-free options, they are also vegan and vegetarian options, and I am neither of those things,” Ball said. “I am just gluten-free, and I don’t always feel like having roasted zucchini.”
Dietary needs should be a priority, along with food quality and students’ health. However, they are not, leaving students vulnerable, uncomfortable and helpless.
The food lacks flexibility and choice. Every day there is pizza, pasta, salad and some kind of burger or other fried meat sandwich. The building got a facelift to hide the fact that the food is still unappealing and frustrating.
The variety we are left with includes deep-fried or greasy entrees, with a few watery vegetables here and there, and a lack of protein options. Generally, health doesn’t seem to be a priority in this glow-up to Atherton.
I always loved being able to pick and choose the parts of my meals, utilizing the allergen-friendly section, crafting my lunch or dinner how I wish. Now I cannot make my meals fit my lifestyle or my needs.
Rosario is a pescitarian and struggles with finding sustenance at Atherton, especially after the ‘upgrades’.
“I have found that it is very difficult to find any form of non-meat food that has some sort of nutrition,” Rosario said. “I am not really trying to eat a salad all the time. Or pizza. But it’s what I’ve been reduced to. I think that the options on campus, just in general, are usually not great for someone who doesn’t eat meat.”
He continued to explain about the sogginess of the tofu, or the abundance of salad choices which don’t satisfy his cravings. Overall, students aren’t happy with Atherton’s change because it didn’t improve the part that actually matters: the food.
The cafeteria design itself is extremely modern. Butler is known for the beauty of its campus; the old building of wood and sandstone, which is very different from the renovations. In all honesty, I don’t hate it; but it doesn’t feel like Butler to me.
Besides it looking overly sterile, there aren’t enough seats. It’s already been a problem previously, but it only grew. More walls and the bigger middle salad, fruit and sandwich bar take up where there was once seating.
The seating is also very divided. There are more small tables that can fit one or two people, rather than long tables with a higher seating capacity. The old tables promoted community, or my favorite question of ‘can I pull up a chair?’ Now we are forced to divy up.
Despite the enclosed booths and smaller tables, students are still trying to figure out a way to keep that community, even if Butler’s new setup diminishes it.
I saw the women’s lacrosse team all sitting together, with too many chairs in a row, squishing themselves together. Pulling up tables that they probably shouldn’t take, just to eat together. They didn’t look comfortable, but they looked happy to share a meal.
The changes to Atherton do not highlight what students wanted: better food, more seating, nutritional value, and options for food restrictions. Supposedly, we do university differently, so why does my dining hall look like any other college campus, without all the Butler charm? If we are supposed to do things differently at Butler, then I hope that Atherton does its thing differently, and soon.