The Service Employees International Union 73 went on strike Monday after failed negotiations with the University. Dormitory convenience stores, cafes and most of the LAR dining hall service were closed on Sept. 20 and will remain so for at least two weeks.
Nancy Bob-Nwojo, sophomore in FAA, said the SEIU strike — combined with the influx of students admitted this year — makes the wait at the dining hall “awful.”
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous, everything takes twice as long,” Bob-Nwojo said as she waited in line around 4:40 p.m. on Monday. “There’s kind of nothing to eat … we’ve lost the variety we once had.”
The housing shortage at the University, brought on by a higher-than-expected freshman admissions yield rate, has had a collateral impact on some students, leaving them not just waiting longer for food but displaced from their intended dorm rooms.
Bob-Nwojo, who had a housing contract in Barton Hall, was moved to an apartment on Green Street just before the school year.
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“I just got a random email one day, two weeks before we moved in my room,” Bob-Nwojo said. “We got placed in an apartment on Green Street which (is) a nice apartment, but it is a bit of an inconvenience because we did plan our housing based on our classes.”
The University enforces that first-year students must live in University-approved housing, and residents living in an undergraduate residence hall are required to have a meal plan. The cheapest plan, receiving 12 meals and 15 dining dollars per week, costs $5,496 per year. Another popular plan — 10 meals and 45 dining dollars per week — costs $6,312 per year.
Without options outside of the dining hall to spend this money on, students are left sitting on weeks worth of dining dollars.
“I’ve got dining dollars that are expired and going away,” freshman Avery Dublin said. “I’ve been spending a lot more of my money. It’s been a week and a half and I haven’t been able to spend dining dollars, which sucks.”
Dublin isn’t satisfied with the University’s response, either.
“I think that the University is handling this poorly,” Dublin said. “I haven’t heard anything about rebates or getting paid back for lost dining dollars.”
Another student, Brian Cantieri, freshman in DGS, is already limited by his gluten allergy. He usually orders from Inclusive Solutions Kitchens, an alternative dining option for dietary-restricted students.
Now, he must order his food a day prior because of a lack of staff in the kitchens. This constricts him to eating at preset times, a habit often incompatible with his fluid schedule and eating habits.
“It’s kind of been tough because sometimes I’d have an early dinner and a late dinner because I would have the meal swipes to do it,” Cantieri said. “Now I’ve got to set a time when I’m going to eat dinner.”
However, Leida Sierra, senior in FAA, said even though lines at ISR dining are noticeably longer, she still thinks University Housing is a better alternative to off-campus, private housing.
“In my opinion, University Housing is probably a much better alternative to landlords and stuff like that,” Sierra said. “I’ve never lived in an apartment before, but everything is in one place.”
In light of both the SEIU strike and recent housing shortages, Sierra added that she hopes the University can reach an agreement with service workers.
“I just hope that there’s a resolve for all these people that are being affected right now,” Sierra said.
CORRECTION Sept. 26, 10:13 a.m.: A previous version of this story was incorrect in saying the cost of various dining plans was on a per-semester basis. The costs quoted were actually the rates per year, not semester, and this has since been corrected.
