The long-range housing plan initiative, a renovation and construction project for dining halls and housing on campus, will include closing Scott and Hamilton dining halls, replacing them with a new facility on Maple Street. This facility will serve à la carte options similar to Dividend$ in the Farmer School of Business. The 15 to 20 year long initiative will also close and replace Alexander Dining Hall.
The editorial board of The Miami Student values university efforts to renovate and update current facilities. New dining options help accommodate student needs and increase Miami's appeal to prospective students. The use of à la carte services will help to reduce food waste and the addition of kiosks with nutritional information will be an attractive new feature for Miami's campus.
However, while the new options will certainly have benefits, there will also have to be sacrifices made which could negatively impact student experience. Buffet dining halls are essential aspects to campus living and, in addition to providing well-balanced, hot meals to students, the halls create an atmosphere of community.
Students go to dining halls to socialize and receive a full meal with a diverse food selection for one price. By replacing these halls with only à la carte facilities, students will be forced to pay a higher price and forfeit the buffet option.
Efficiency and cost are certainly components of the plan that must remain at the forefront, but student opinion must also be explored. The need and desire for new dining halls is evident, but replacing buffet options with only à la carte selections might not be what is preferable to students.
Project managers and officials are encouraged to seek student input before formulating any solid plan. Dining is an important part of college life and must be given ample consideration when change is being deliberated.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.