During this morning’s Administrative Panel at the Fall Leadership Conference, administrators from the Dean of the College division announced several changes that will take place around campus this semester.
Campus Dining
Senior Director of Campus Dining Maureen King updated the student leaders present on plans for Campus Dining this year. Beginning on Aug. 30, the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) will close from 3:30-5:00 p.m. on weekdays only. According to King, Campus Dining made the decision based on low use of ACDC during that period of time—an average of 30 students per day. After several questions, King added that though the servery will close, no student who is already in the Dining Center will be forced to leave.
She also added that the change will give the custodial staff a chance to clean ACDC thoroughly before the daily dinner rush.
This year ACDC will have an all-vegetarian grill in response to criticism and concern about cross-contamination between vegetarian dishes and those containing meat. King also said that ACDC will be trying “Meatless Mondays” in which vegetarian dishes will be highlighted, though meat will still be available.
Among other changes in Campus Dining will be added nutritional transparency in the ACDC, where menus with nutritional information will be printed. The Campus Dining website will also include an “Ask the Dietitian” feature.
King along with Director for Marketing and Sustainability Ken Oldehoff provided an update on the status of composting in the Retreat. According to Oldehoff, the composting system has been a great success. In 2009, he noted, the College composted 125,000 lbs. of organic waste, and in the first six months of 2010 alone the College has composted 190,000 lbs.
One caveat to the success of the system, however, is the price of compostable disposables. For example, compostable cutlery costs about twice as much as the regular plastic variety. King estimated that the College spends about $18,000 per year on cups for water alone. Therefore, to combat costs, King announced that using the compostable cups for previously free drinks such as water or seltzer will now cost $0.10. Campus Dining will provide free cups with water just outside of the Retreat for students, though King hopes that students will increase the habit of bringing in reusable bottles.
Health Services
After a question from a student, Dean of the College Chris Roellke confirmed that the hours of Vassar College Health Services has change to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and to 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Last year, hours were reduced from 24-hour service to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Like the change in ACDC’s hours, he said that the decision was based largely on student use of Baldwin Health Center in the evenings. According to Roellke, Health Services treated an average of 0.2 students per hour after 5 p.m.
Some students expressed concern over the change in hours, highlighting particularly the cost of an ambulance ride and emergency room visit in the absence of Health Services on campus. Roellke added that the College has adjusted student health insurance packages, provided by Gallagher-Koster, to cover the costs of a hospital stay outside of Baldwin’s hours. He also hoped that the quality of care provided by Health Services could be improved by focusing resources on a staff who were able to get to know the students they treat.
Main Parlors
Easily one of the most contentious issues brought up at the panel was the status of the ability of student groups to use the parlors in Main Building. According to Assistant Dean of the College for Campus Activities Teresa Quinn, performance groups will no longer be able to rehearse in the parlors. However, they may still be reserved for other meetings.
The concern that led to the decision, said Quinn, was the regular disarray of parlor furniture after late-night rehearsals, which were then left to be tidied by groups using the space in the morning. Because of a similar issue, the rooms in Rockefeller Hall will now be available after hours only by key access with prior reservation.
Several students voiced criticism at the decision, noting that the spaces have been valuable for both rehearsal and performance in the past. Students also made suggestions for how organizations might take responsibility for the care of the spaces, including the posting of a guide to furniture placement so that groups will know how to restore order to the rooms. Quinn said that she would be willing to set up a meeting with students to work out a system that would maintain both the order of the parlors and the vibrancy of and location options for student theatrical and singing groups.
Zip Cars
Roellke announced that the Zipcar program is set to begin this fall. The company has already dropped off a Honda Civic and a Mazda 3 for students to rent. Rentals will cost $8.00 per hour, which includes gas and insurance. According to Roellke, the company estimates that the program will lead to a decrease of between 15 and 20 student vehicles on campus.
Transition Program
Assistant Dean of the College and Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa updated students on a pilot orientation program, which brought 36 first-generation or low-income freshmen to campus early and paired each one with an upperclassman as a mentor. Roellke added that parents were also included in the program.
According to Inoa, as 60 percent of Vassar students—62.6 percent of freshmen—are now on financial aid, the duty falls on the institution to be mindful of the student population and what it will take for each student to succeed.
