With nearly 120 years of combined experience in Penland Dining Hall, Elaine Battle, Linda Benson and Donna Majors have served thousands — maybe even millions — of meals to the Baylor community. But the three are known for far more than flipping omelets or making pizzas. Their careers are marked by countless relationships and acts of service that go beyond the women’s job descriptions.
Browsing: dining halls
As a freshman, I recall planning my weekends around dining hall hours, which, for an unlimited meal plan, seems rather limiting. Two years and one new food supplier later, Penland Hall is still the only spot that stays open past 9 p.m., and it happens only four nights a week. In that time, Baylor also closed Brooks Great Hall without meaningfully changing other facilities’ hours.
A sprinkler system malfunction flooded the kitchen of Memorial Dining Hall Monday afternoon, closing the cafeteria for about two hours and forcing staff to throw out both hot and unprepared food.
On Feb. 3, Penland Dining Hall received an 80 on a health inspection. While this doesn’t qualify for failure, it’s a significant decline from its previous low of 98.
Shobi Ahmed, the manager of the Exxon station where the Subway was housed, said the restaurant closed Feb. 1 after the lease was not renewed. The reason for Subway’s closure, he said, was slowing business caused by changing landscapes around campus dining. While the company Ahmed works for has managed the property for only about a year, Ahmed said he was told the Subway was busier in the past when students could use their IDs to pay for food.
Despite common assumptions, student leaders say food insecurity affects up to 12% of Baylor students and are working to connect more students with campus resources.
Baylor Eats is introducing new initiatives to reduce food waste in campus dining halls, including sampling stations, food recovery programs and waste tracking systems.
In a whirlwind beginning of a semester for Baylor Dining, Sic ‘Em Swipes for the Block 40 and Block 65 meal plans were revoked, temporarily available due to a technical error and officially reinstated.
Missing your meal plan? You’re not alone. Between rising grocery prices, busy schedules and spoiled leftovers, life after the dining hall isn’t as glamorous as we thought.
“People like it here,” Gonzales said. “A space this beautiful deserves to get daily attention. Otherwise, it’s a waste.”
After 68 years of Aramark Dining Services within the Baylor dining halls, a big change came. On June 1, Cartwheel Higher Education Dining Services took over as the new leader in food service management on campus.
“They swarm down the alley right past the dining hall, and if you ever pass by there, you will see at least one person screaming and running away,” Peschel said.
What if solo dining could be a source of confidence and personal growth? Eating alone is something to embrace, not avoid.
Students could learn practical skills, make some spending money and even help lower the costs of the university. Now, just because it would lower the operating costs of the university doesn’t mean it would be reflected in a tuition drop — especially when you remember the sentiments in Vedder’s article.
According to a Baylor email announcement sent to all faculty and staff on March 26, the cost of student meal plans has increased steadily with inflation, allowing for institutional subsidies on faculty and staff dining to remain the same for nearly two decades. However, due to inflation, the university has decided to raise faculty and staff dining rates.
From going across campus for classes and extracurriculars to maintaining a social life, students don’t have extra time to wait in line for food and coffee. Grubhub and the order-ahead options at retail locations are some of the most efficient things Baylor Dining has brought to campus.
When the clock strikes sweet treat o’clock, where is the best place to find a delicious dessert? I’m here to tell you!
In order for the university to uphold its commitment to respecting all people, that would mean providing dietary accommodations for practicing Muslim first-year students specifically, since they are required to purchase a meal plan. These students deserve to feel comfortable eating on campus without fear that they are going against their religious beliefs by doing so.
There’s no denying it: food insecurity is an issue for students on campus— 2,150 of them to be exact, according to The Store’s website. If such a sizeable number of students struggle with this issue, why is it that these students remain silent in their suffering?
Baylor cafeterias need more Oreos.
OK, so maybe that’s not the healthiest option to help prevent college weight gain.
Baylor has four cafeterias in dormitories.
Penland Food Court offers the mall food court type of feel with plenty of options and late hours but not too high healthwise.
RFoC at Memorial brings some home cooking to campus.
