The DDC Has Its Reasons
by
Heather Megill
One of the most important services of residential living here on campus is undoubtedly the Dickerman Dining Commons. This service, however, comes with a price and Michael San Antonio, director of Dining Services for Husson University, knows these costs all too well.
“Students pay a fee for their meal program,” explains San Antonio. “That fee does not cover the cost of taking food out of the dining commons. That would probably drive costs to an extent that would require a fairly substantial increase in the board charge to students.”
He explains that this rule is not meant to be a hassle for students. The reasoning for such a rule is to protect the students. “In dining services we want to make sure that we provide a good quality service but we also have to do it in a financially responsible way on behalf of the students.”
San Antonio recalls a time when the DDC allowed certain items out of the area such as ice cream cones. This was quickly abused by some of the students, with ice cream being thrown at windows and even stuffed in gas tanks of vehicles.
“Based on vandalism that was occurring in the resident halls and other parts of the campus community, [I was asked to] prohibit ice cream cones from leaving the dining commons,” San Antonio says.
Recently students have been allowed to remove ice cream cones from the dining areas again, in hopes that they will behave responsibly.
San Antonio kindly adds that there is a general understanding of why these rules are implemented. “There are times when we need to enforce it publically,” he mentions. “Other times students are really good about understanding why that policy is in effect.”
There have also been rising concerns over how crowded the dining areas are during the allotted meal times. Husson is in the process of developing an architectural plan to possibly solve the issue of limited space.
“There is a campus wide recognition with students, faculty, staff, and administration that the dining commons is less than adequate to the number of students that we now have,” says San Antonio. “The university is looking for ways in how to address that, but we need to address that in a financially responsible way.”
The university’s highest priority is expanding and improving the services offered here for students. However, all future plans take time and money.
“The university is looking at how to spend the money that’s available in a way that will give the greatest impact for student satisfaction,” says San Antonio. He adds that he is unsure just yet of how the budget will be spent, but that the campus will be hearing more about the proposition over the next couple of years.
With over two decades of experience in the dining facility himself, San Antonio has his own ideal image of what the future of the dining commons holds. He would like to see a food court arrangement, giving students more choices. He also would enjoy having a new pizza brick oven as a centerpiece for the dining area.
San Antonio also greatly encourages feedback from the campus community on how they want the future dining commons to operate.
“I would strongly advocate as we’re planning this to involve students in determining what a new dining facility might look like and what kind of services would be available there,” he says.
The dining staff also gets feedback from reviewing their annual customer satisfaction surveys that they receive from the National Association of College and University and Food Services. San Antonio explains that in the past three years, Husson University students have ranked dining services better than other students have ranked their own dining services. The survey also reveals some negative feedback that students have.
“This year for the first time we saw a slight decline in student satisfaction,” says San Antonio. “It was still higher than the national average. A lot of it has to do with the crowding during meal times.”
He adds that the issue of overcrowding during meal times is something that can only be addressed with a new dining facility plan.
Students are also reminded that they should never feel they have to go hungry while attending school. If their schedule doesn’t allow them to eat at the given times, there are other alternatives.
“We purposefully have designed the meal plan to include dining dollars so that it extends the hours students are able to get food,” stresses San Antonio. “Students also should understand that their dining dollars provide them with the opportunity to eat after the dining commons is closed either at Willey’s, Cressy’s, or Angelo’s.”
He also explains that prior arrangements can be made with the dining staff to schedule students at an earlier eating time if necessary, or prepare them a box lunch.
San Antonio concludes that if students have any problems with the dining commons that he encourages future discussions with them.
“I welcome the opportunity for students to ask questions about [the rules], so we have the opportunity explain why they are in place,” he says. The rules, in most cases he says, are there to benefit the student and protect the funds they have already invested into an expensive college education.
Overall, San Antonio wants everyone to feel comfortable when they use the dining commons.
“We want students to feel like a valued guest when they come and dine with us.”
The DDC Has It’s Reasons
Heather Megill
One of the most important services of residential living here on campus is undoubtedly the Dickerman Dining Commons. This service, however, comes with a price and Michael San Antonio, director of Dining Services for Husson University, knows these costs all too well.
“Students pay a fee for their meal program,” explains San Antonio. “That fee does not cover the cost of taking food out of the dining commons. That would probably drive costs to an extent that would require a fairly substantial increase in the board charge to students.”
He explains that this rule is not meant to be a hassle for students. The reasoning for such a rule is to protect the students. “In dining services we want to make sure that we provide a good quality service but we also have to do it in a financially responsible way on behalf of the students.”
San Antonio recalls a time when the DDC allowed certain items out of the area such as ice cream cones. This was quickly abused by some of the students, with ice cream being thrown at windows and even stuffed in gas tanks of vehicles.
“Based on vandalism that was occurring in the resident halls and other parts of the campus community, [I was asked to] prohibit ice cream cones from leaving the dining commons,” San Antonio says.
Recently students have been allowed to remove ice cream cones from the dining areas again, in hopes that they will behave responsibly.
San Antonio kindly adds that there is a general understanding of why these rules are implemented. “There are times when we need to enforce it publically,” he mentions. “Other times students are really good about understanding why that policy is in effect.”
There have also been rising concerns over how crowded the dining areas are during the allotted meal times. Husson is in the process of developing an architectural plan to possibly solve the issue of limited space.
“There is a campus wide recognition with students, faculty, staff, and administration that the dining commons is less than adequate to the number of students that we now have,” says San Antonio. “The university is looking for ways in how to address that, but we need to address that in a financially responsible way.”
The university’s highest priority is expanding and improving the services offered here for students. However, all future plans take time and money.
“The university is looking at how to spend the money that’s available in a way that will give the greatest impact for student satisfaction,” says San Antonio. He adds that he is unsure just yet of how the budget will be spent, but that the campus will be hearing more about the proposition over the next couple of years.
With over two decades of experience in the dining facility himself, San Antonio has his own ideal image of what the future of the dining commons holds. He would like to see a food court arrangement, giving students more choices. He also would enjoy having a new pizza brick oven as a centerpiece for the dining area.
San Antonio also greatly encourages feedback from the campus community on how they want the future dining commons to operate.
“I would strongly advocate as we’re planning this to involve students in determining what a new dining facility might look like and what kind of services would be available there,” he says.
The dining staff also gets feedback from reviewing their annual customer satisfaction surveys that they receive from the National Association of College and University and Food Services. San Antonio explains that in the past three years, Husson University students have ranked dining services better than other students have ranked their own dining services. The survey also reveals some negative feedback that students have.
“This year for the first time we saw a slight decline in student satisfaction,” says San Antonio. “It was still higher than the national average. A lot of it has to do with the crowding during meal times.”
He adds that the issue of overcrowding during meal times is something that can only be addressed with a new dining facility plan.
Students are also reminded that they should never feel they have to go hungry while attending school. If their schedule doesn’t allow them to eat at the given times, there are other alternatives.
“We purposefully have designed the meal plan to include dining dollars so that it extends the hours students are able to get food,” stresses San Antonio. “Students also should understand that their dining dollars provide them with the opportunity to eat after the dining commons is closed either at Willey’s, Cressy’s, or Angelo’s.”
He also explains that prior arrangements can be made with the dining staff to schedule students at an earlier eating time if necessary, or prepare them a box lunch.
San Antonio concludes that if students have any problems with the dining commons that he encourages future discussions with them.
“I welcome the opportunity for students to ask questions about [the rules], so we have the opportunity explain why they are in place,” he says. The rules, in most cases he says, are there to benefit the student and protect the funds they have already invested into an expensive college education.
Overall, San Antonio wants everyone to feel comfortable when they use the dining commons.
“We want students to feel like a valued guest when they come and dine with us.”
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