During lunch hours, it is common to see students enjoying their meals, outside, in the cafeteria, or elsewhere in the building. As it starts to get colder, the number of students eating outside is starting to decrease as students find new locations. For some, this means a move into the cafeteria. For others, the noise and number of students within the cafeteria can be intense, so they resort to finding other locations. 

While there are tables located in A200s and B200s, those tend to be quite heavily packed with seniors who have claimed that area as their territory, keeping most students away. With those tables being occupied, there are fifteen total tables left scattered throughout the third and fourth floors of each of the buildings. Even though that number may sound like a lot, many students have found that these tables fill up rather quickly.

Unfortunately, there are also issues with sitting in the library, not only because it sometimes closes completely during the lunch block, but also because eating in this area is off limits. The lack of seating available during this time begs the question, what are students’ other options? 

The reality is that there are not many alternatives.  The offer to eat lunch in the house offices has been extended  to students by the office faculty, where there is an expectation that students remain respectful of the staff who are working at this time. This may feel too low energy for students on their only break of the day. Many students feel that there should be increased seating outside of the cafeteria and library, but the question remains: is this possible, and where would we put these tables if we could?