A great change has come to the dining hall schedules this year. To provide a more flexible eating schedule to students, Lyman Dining Hall hours were extended to 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“[Athletes, whose practices finish after regular dining hours] were concerned that their choices were limited: There was no salad bar, they felt that day after day eating elsewhere made it hard to eat in a consistently healthy way and because they could only use flex dollars it was costing them more and those with board plans were not able to use their board meals,” said Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland.

However, this extension benefits much more of the student body than just the student athletes. People working, doing homework later and participating in clubs will also see gains.

“We selected Lyman because it was connected to the Jewett kitchen, and due to its size cost less to run, including less clean-up time, than the two larger ones,” said Cleveland.

The new hours are a great new option for Whitties, but only if they are utilized properly.

“If students don’t take advantage of this option, and it has been slow so far, we will in all likelihood return to the previous hours of operation,” said Cleveland.

At least some students have been using these hours, however.

“[If Lyman closed at 6:30 p.m.] I would not eat dinner because I have no flex dollars on my plan and eat dinner there [Lyman] after practice on weekdays,” said first-year volleyball player Abigail Seethoff.

Yet the late dinner hours are not widely attended.

“Sometimes I’ve been lucky and eaten with a friend from tennis, but this is rare,” said Seethoff.