With this year’s changes in Reid Campus Center’s dining hours, the RCC is no longer the bustling hub it once was.
Reid Café has dramatically cut back its hours, closing between 2 to 5 p.m. every day, and also at 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Prior to this semester, Reid Café was open from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. These cuts in hours were the result of what was deemed insufficient profit by the Whitman College Treasury Administration.
According to Roger Edens, director of Bon Appetit, Whitman does not have the budget to maintain the three full kitchens of Prentiss, Jewett and Reid Café at all of the hours that they operated at in previous years. Edens compared dining with Whitman’s peer colleges, particularly Willamette and Reed.
“Whitman had the lowest number of students served per hour of operation,” said Edens. “Where most of the schools fell into 72 to 100 people served per hour open, Whitman came in at only 42. During the five weeks under review Whitman was open 1,324 hours while the two colleges closest in size were open 428 (Reed) and 735 (Willamette) hours.”
However, by cutting Reid Café hours in an attempt to raise profit, Whitman appears to be inadvertently losing more than it gains. Employees of the Café have noticed the activity in Reid Campus Center as a whole decrease dramatically, regardless of the available grab and go snacks.
“Reid used to be filled with activity at all hours it was open,” said one Café employee, “but now, when the Café is closed, it’s completely empty.”
With the loss in open Café hours there is a loss in social activity and interaction. Many students in the past have depended upon Reid’s bustling social atmosphere to be a place to congregate and interact. Because of this, many activities and club meetings were also dependent upon Reid to provide an environment that naturally promotes student involvement.
“Reid Campus Center is designed to be a gathering place for students and faculty alike,” said Barbara Maxwell, director of the Reid Campus Center. “Food is a natural resource around which people congregate. With the reduction of Reid Café’s hours, there is also a reduced opportunity to maintain social activity.”
Whitman has yet to see how the changes in Reid hours will affect the student body as a whole. As student involvement and activity decreases with the Reid Café hours, campus unity and overall student happiness may be greatly affected.
Most importantly, Whitman will soon see whether or not the new Reid hours are improving the profit of Bon Appetit.
