On Oct. 29, the new all-campus dining hall Cleveland Commons was opened to students. Students are now receiving higher quality food, but many are concerned that this is paired with higher prices.

According to Roger Edens, the General Manager of Bon Appetit, the intent behind Cleveland Commons was to provide the campus with “more dining options, longer hours, and more inviting spaces for years to come.”

The college has been planning the construction and opening of Cleveland Commons for almost four years. Instead of running three different kitchens across campus, it made more economic sense for Whitman to switch to a single kitchen.

While the new dining hall has been highly anticipated by the Whitman community, students are now concerned about the spike in meal prices.

Junior Olivia Engle expressed her disappointment about the pricing of the new dining hall given the portion sizes.

“I think they need to reduce the prices,” Engle said. “The portion sizes are fine, but for the prices they are charging us for, it is not okay. They either need to increase the portion size or decrease the price.”

The higher price of food has increased stress among students, causing some to worry that they will be unable to buy enough food on their given amount of Flex dollars on their meal plan.

Edens sees little change in the new system.

“As with meal plans from prior years, there will be students who rarely miss meals, have hearty appetites, or frequently purchase in-between meal snacks, and those students will want to purchase additional Flex,” Edens said.

This added stress of budgeting affects the entire student body, yet the burden falls most heavily on students of a lower socioeconomic standing. Engle believes this added burden will impact students beyond their experiences in the dining halls. 

“Food security and financial security are already problems in the FGWC group of students,” Engle said. “When you add more stress to that it could affect their academics [and] home life. People are going to start running out of Flex during finals week, so that’s going to be even harder when you’re hungry and can’t focus.”

Students like Engle have expressed their concern that Cleveland prices are catered toward Whitman students that are in a higher socioeconomic group. Not all students are able to add money to their account, per Eden’s suggestion. Lower-income students feel a heavy financial burden on their shoulders with tuition costs that are already over $60,000 per year. 

“I can’t even imagine having to call my mom and asking her to add more Flex, and her having to say no,” Engle said.

Edens says the meal plan is not catered towards a specific group, rather there is enough Flex for the average student.

“We designed the new meal plan to better reflect actual student usage,” Edens said. “This plan, as stated in the meal plan brochure, is intended to ‘provide enough Flex dollars to pay for approximately 15 meals per week, enough to meet an average student’s needs,'” Edens said.  

Although Bon Appetit is confident in the new meal plan pricing, the actual day-to-day budgeting may not work out perfectly for all students. Engle notes that she once ate a salad because it was the cheapest thing.

“I didn’t feel full,” Engle said. “But I couldn’t go get more food because I couldn’t afford to waste more Flex.” 

Whitman and Bon Appetit plan to address these student concerns.Emma Beaver

“We know how the change is affecting students because they are telling us,” Edens said. “We have been getting a lot of feedback from students on how things are working. We appreciate it and will take all feedback into account as we move forward.”

There will be several feedback sessions during the week of Nov. 12, where students will be able to express their concerns, questions and opinions. Bon Appetit is also in the process of creating a student advisory committee so that the dining hall will better reflect students needs.

Emma Beaver
“We are just settling into Cleveland Commons, and we have many new things we will be rolling out over the next few weeks,” Edens said. “We are planning Cleveland Combo specials and $5 Fridays on a regular basis, as well as everyday values at the salad bar and soup station. If there is something in particular that students want, please have them email me directly at [email protected].”

In an email to the student body sent last week, Dean of Students Kazi Joshua acknowledged students concerns and expressed his desire for students to be included in every part of campus life.

“We will therefore not allow any student to go hungry,” Joshua said. “It is simply not who we are. You should eat as you normally would and not skip meals in anticipation of running out of points. As we get closer to the end of the semester, if your balance is such that you have concerns about your ability to eat, please contact the Dean of Students Office, and we will make sure that food insecurity is not an issue.”