There are 8 comments on What Is Fall Semester Campus Dining Like? This BU Student Offers a Glimpse

1. Nice job on this video! As a 2004 alumna, I was interested in learning more about campus life for current students.

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2. I really enjoyed watching the dining experience for a BU student during this pandemic. I’m a Brighton resident and have mostly visited BU to attend lectures and readings open to the public like ones by Robert Pinsky and Derek Walcott. Thank you!!

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3. Brigid did a fantastic job showing the dining options and giving specific recommendations. The music and snippets of Boston added a lot. Thank you for sharing how all this is working, Brigid.

   I was extremely distressed, however, to see the steps backward with regard to sustainability. All that plastic!

   BU has made such progress in recent years, and although most of the moves toward unsustainability that we see here are probably unavoidable, small positive moves could be made. Could each student receive, for example, a set of reuseable cutlery so that plastic spoons and forks don’t need to be take for each meal? Could there be special supplemental recycling stations set up in the dorms?

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   1. Margo Miller, you are extremely distressed to see the steps backward with regard to sustainability? All that plastic? Are you serious? We are in the midst of a pandemic! BU is doing a phenomenal job taking care of the students. Once the pandemic is over, they will put sustainability back on the front burner.

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4. Brigid, thank you for taking the time to make this video. I’m a parent of a BU sophomore, and like all parents, I miss and worry about our kids’ well being and safety. You did such a great job w/this video that I felt like I was there myself! And it was wonderful to see what my daughter might be experiencing through your eyes. Thanks and keep it up! Stay safe :)

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5. This is a very good look into how the dining halls have changed with the pandemic. However, I do want to comment on how disappointing the food itself has been. I understand there are likely restrictions that negatively impact the choices we have, but it really has been bad. The portions are a fraction of what they used to be, oftentimes the dining hall simply doesn’t have half the items listed on the menu, and the staff regularly refuse to give out second helpings. The gluten-free section of Marciano is absolutely tiny and often doesn’t have anything to offer when I walk up–literally, it is empty.
   While most of these things aren’t the end of the world, myself and many of my peers have recently been feeling hunger every day–not hungry because it has been several hours since eating but hungry because I’ve just exited the dining hall and I know already that there simply isn’t enough food to sustain myself. It is getting harder and harder to eat a full meal.
   Because of these problems, it is difficult to manage meal swipes and dining points. With the food shortage at the dining halls its become necessary to spend extra dining points to compensate, resulting in a point deficit that is not our fault and is very, very expensive.
   I love BU. This is a great school and i genuinely enjoy being here. These new COVID procedures, though, I don’t love, and neither do any other students I’ve spoken with. Also, we are using a heck of a lot of plastic. Please, take another look at what is actually happening in the dining halls (specifically Marciano), not what the COVID plan is in theoretically. Thank you.
   PS, I highly recommend checking out the unofficial Boston University Reddit page (r/BostonU) for some pictures and other testaments to the shortcomings of the dining halls this year.

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   1. It is extremely naive and privileged to say you are going “hungry” on campus. There are literally 4 dining halls on campus and not all of them seems as bad as you describe it. I am a vegan and Warren always does a great job with at least one vegan meal, in addition to an entire bar for gluten-free people. I’m assuming you’re a student on campus which means you’re also an adult. It’s not difficult to walk to another dining hall to find these options. And your claim that dining staff won’t give out second portions is objectively false. If you can identify a staff member who has, I will gladly report them to administration on your behalf. I know this comes off as aggressive but I just want you to know it doesn’t have to be like this! Use your legs and walk to another dining hall and for goodness sake do not say you are going “hungry” in a dining hall with all-you-can-eat swipes, it’s not right to compare yourself to people who are actually in need of food.

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6. BU Dining has worked with BU Sustainability to identify disposable containers that minimize negative environmental impacts associated with their production, such as greenhouse gas emissions, and their disposal, such as recyclability or the environmental and public health impacts associated with incineration. Beyond considering environmental and public health impacts, the containers have been chosen to maintain food quality and safety, which can also help minimize food waste.

   Many of the containers that we use are made of plant-based materials – fiber clamshells, bioplastic cups and clamshells, bamboo cups, etc. – instead of petroleum-based plastics. Other containers such as aluminum containers and their plastic lids can be recycled if they are cleaned properly. The cups that Brigid mentioned could be recycled are actually lined with bioplastic so they should be disposed of in either the food waste or trash waste stream – they are not recyclable. To help the BU Community sort to-go container waste, we have created a guide on our website: https://www.bu.edu/dining/sustainability/waste-reduction-diversion/

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