Assigned time framed for meals, selection of one of the five dining lines upon entry, elimination of seating in the dining center, elimination of the buffet and instead have prepackaged foods, and alterations to the hours of operation await UW students in the fall.
Instead of Washakie employees swiping the student’s ID cards to enter, students will swipe their own cards now to limit contact with other individuals. Students are also required to wear a mask and social distance while in Washakie.
“The Washakie Dining Center will have five different serving lines, each offering a different menu selection,” said executive director of Resident Life and Dining Services Eric Webb.
“Students will need to select the line with the menu offerings they would like to eat. They will make their way up to the counter via a distanced zigzagged line, select what they want to eat and drink, their selections will be placed in to go containers by the server, and they will exit the building out the fire exit doors,” said Webb.
Students will be able to take snack items as well but will have to swipe back in for an additional meal.
Luke Foering, a sophomore studying Environmental Systems Sciences, enjoyed Washakie last year due to the socialization atmosphere. He said the buffet was the best part about Washakie and, when informed that Washakie would not longer work as a buffet, he said, “I hate that. I think students pay way too much for a meal plan to put limits on top of them.”
The dining hall would occasionally have special dinners with themes and foods that were not typically offered. For now there will be no special dinners until the staff and university are comfy with the modified service system said Webb. Events will also no longer be hosted in Washakie.
After choosing their food and receiving the prepackaged meal, which is a requirement from the Wyoming State Health Codes according to the Director of Dining Services Reggie Conerly, students may choose to eat in the lower level of the Washakie Center, at tables outside or in their dorm rooms. Additional outdoor seating arrangements have been ordered to provide more options in this area. This is all for social distancing purposes.
“We must be able to socially distance everyone without exceeding the building capacity,” said Conerly. “If the building reaches capacity, a cashier or crowd control person will slow the line down until a sufficient number of students have exited the building.”
There will also be time slots assigned for students to come eat during the lunch, in order to keep the traffic slow, and there will be alterations to the hours of operation to allow time for cleaning. The lunch times will be assigned based on class schedules according to Webb.
Foering is concerned that students may not be able to get to their assigned lunch times if classes run late or early, preventing them from receiving the meal. Foering himself would spend about 45 minutes in the dining hall eating and socializing for his meals but understands the university is attempting to keep students safe.
“If they are allowed to stay and eat I think they could have a punch card system at each meal where if they don’t like what they got they could have another try or two to find another meal that they like,” said Foering. “It might make meeting new people kind of hard though, because they might be more focused on eating than socializing.”
He also said that a good idea would be for the dining hall to have an order ahead and pick up options to eliminate traffic in those five lanes. This would also give a fast and easy option for students to limit contact with people per personal preference or get food on the go to class or their dorms.
“I feel that if they are saving money in other ways they should use that money to benefit the students in a way like that,” said Foering.
Additional staff are going to be hired for extensive cleaning, sanitizing and removing trash to maintain healthy cleanliness standards of Washakie. Conerly said the cleaning will occur between each meal or at a minimum of three times a day. The high contact areas will be sanitized much more frequently.
Only students living in the residence halls and Washakie staff will be allowed to eat in Washakie as well as students who have carried over unused meal plans from the past year.
“We prefer to not invite off campus and the community due to quarantine and COVID related issues,” said Conerly.
