Lee McKinstry
Editor in Chief
Fans of the no-fry zone are celebrating this school year. Following a steady increase in admissions and a number of fervent student petitions, Kittredge Dining Hall has officially reopened for dinner for the first time since the 2008-2009 academic year.
Open on Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., the cafeteria will be serving vegetarian, locally-grown, non-fried dinner options. Kittredge will continue to offer lunch options 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.
The decision to re-open the cafeteria comes after three consecutive years of increases in freshman class sizes. Over 600 incoming freshman arrived on campus in the fall of 2010, and the class of 2015 and 2016 both numbered above 560. During these three years, smaller senior classes graduated, numbering into the 400s. Lowry Dining Hall grew over-crowded as a result, prompting two different student-run Facebook campaigns to re-open Kittredge for dinner.
Kittredge was closed during the 2009-2010 academic year, with the exception of special events and club dinners. The dining hall reopened for lunch hours two years ago.
Chuck Wagers, Director of Campus Dining and Conference Services, proposed reopening Kittredge to the administration as part of this year’s Campus Services Dining Plan, a move that he hoped would reduce the congestion in Lowry Center.
“Our student population is significantly larger than it was three years ago,” said Wagers. Opening Kittredge for dinner provides no additional revenue for the College, but hopefully it provides more convenience for our students.”
The new dinner plan is just one of many changes that the department made to campus dining this year. More card merchants have been hired to staff dining sites, and “ManageMyID” launched, a website that allows students to check meal plan balances and add funds to their COW card debit account.