As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease on campus, the Marketplace is seeing changes that are leaving students hungry for answers.
Since Feb. 17, the dining hall has disallowed the removal of dishes from the facility. This marks a significant change in dining policy, as just a few weeks ago Director of Dining Services Cristina Cabanilla advised that students eat outside or sit at Dave’s Boathouse to relieve capacity issues related to COVID-19.
According to Cabanilla, students must use an Ozzi container if they wish to take food out of the Marketplace. Cabinilla said, “This policy has always been in place, [but] we were more flexible during COVID-19 times due to not having enough space at the [Marketplace].”
At the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on Feb. 22, Dean of Students Leon Hayner confirmed that the dining hall had returned to full capacity after communicating with Cabanilla via email.
Cabanilla also directly confirmed that the dining hall is at full capacity with The Sandspur. She said that the return to full capacity means that Dining Services will be more strict about enforcing the Ozzi system for taking food to-go.
Many students, however, feel that the dining hall is still overpacked during peak hours. This has been noted most frequently during the lunch block from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lillian Groves (‘25) expressed a mixed opinion about the issue.
“I saw an employee standing at the exit of the [Campus Center (CC)], not allowing people to take their dishes to other locations to eat their food. I think that was aggravating, especially if someone forgot their token or just wanted to eat outside or just have more space to eat with friends,” Groves said.
“During the week, the CC is extremely packed. The lines are long and I feel like I am walking around trying to look for a table half of the time,” Groves added. “I think that there needs to be a system set up where people can place their dirty dishes at Dave’s or outside in front of the CC so that first, the dishes aren’t left around campus and second, people can be spread out and still utilize Rollins’ Dining Services.”
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