Ben Grant
Staff Reporter
The Forum/ Dining Porch, the Green Terrace, the Pub. In case you hadn’t heard, Englar Dining Hall (Glar) is being renovated and those are now the venues for eating on the meal plan.
Students were given 35 additional meal exchanges to compensate for the temporary loss of Glar. Now they can eat more at the Pub or the Green Terrace, with the Pub now offering a hot meal a day and a grab-and-go menu as well.
A question many people have is why the school decided to renovate starting in December, as opposed to doing the work over the summer. Ethan Seidel, Vice President for Administration and Finance, had an answer.
“McDaniel is really busy during the summer, with conferences being held and different summer camps. All those kids and adults need to eat somewhere. Winter break is actually the longest down time, as there is little demand for Glar during Jan Term, so it was a nice chunk of time to start the abatement and construction.”
The reaction to construction being timed for the convenience of those who are here during the summer as opposed to that of the students is different depending on who you talk to.
“I don’t really mind eating in the Forum or having more options during the day,” says junior Nathan Warden. “The way the Forum is set up, it gives a better illusion of privacy even though the tables are closer together. In Glar everyone just stares at everyone. Also I believe it’ll be worth it because the new Glar will be awesome.”
Junior Ryan Murrell is not really a fan of eating in the Forum and says the 35 extra meal exchanges don’t compensate for the lack of a regular dining hall because “the food the pub offers during lunch is just awful.”
Sophomore Anna Fine says, “I don’t like eating in the Forum at all. My friends and I rarely go. I’m glad we got the extra meal exchanges so we can eat in other places.”
Quite a few people were curious as to why McDaniel decided to renovate Glar. It turns out that it has been about 15 years since McDaniel renovated its dining hall. This was not a random decision. Since 2002 McDaniel has had a master plan, which included the renovation of the dining hall. Students should be happy to know construction has been going exactly according to plan, so when we all return from spring break, a new and improved Glar should be awaiting us.
