Vol. 129 NO. 8
March 6, 2025
By the students, for the students
Basketball: A tribute to the seniors
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Dracula: An amazing student production
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Opinion: “The Lord of the Rings” vs. “Star Wars”
PAGE 9 Photo courtesy of Pexels.
Brandon Mattesich Co-Editor-In-Chief
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ast week, The Observer polled students with the question, “In which area would you most like to see change from CWU?” Dining was the majority answer, with 31.8% of the responses. Dining at CWU is always changing, and at the start of the 20242025 school year, it underwent major changes impacting students and staff alike. From the conversion of Holmes into an “all you care to enjoy” buffet, to operational hour changes across campus and price increases at all locations, just about every aspect of on-campus dining was tweaked or altered in some way. There are a couple of major changes coming to the financial side of Dining in the 2025-2026 academic year, according to Dean Masuccio, director of Dining Services. First is the introduction of a returning resident meal plan, a new, more affordable tier for any returning on-campus residents. Second is a change in quarter to quarter housing and meal plan rates. Instead of having variable rates quarter to quarter, both housing and meal plan rates will be consistent across all quarters, Masuccio said. In The Observer’s survey, students took issue with lack of healthy food on campus, portion sizes, hours and menus. Across social media, including the student social media platform Fizz CWU, dining photos are frequently featured by students, showcasing inconsistencies and alleging quality issues with food across campus.
Masuccio sat down with The Observer, together with Joe Ritchie, campus executive chef, and Dustin Atkinson, assistant director of Dining Services, to discuss changes in Dining’s past, present and future. Holmes Dining Room At the start of the CWU 20242025 academic year, Holmes Dining underwent a major change, shifting from a retail location to an “all you care to enjoy” buffet-style operation. This change brought a new menu, new prices and new hours. CWU student reactions to the change were mixed, with many of those surveyed stating that they enjoy the new menu, and many stating that they miss the old dining space. One survey respondent stated, “I like the new Holmes, I like the food, I just wish it wasn’t so expensive, but I get it. I’m still going to eat there.” Dean Masuccio spoke about this new model. “One of the things that we launched this current academic year was the reimagining of Holmes Dining into a more traditional dining hall that would be experienced on a university campus,” Masuccio said. “One of the deliverables from the Holmes project was to elevate the quality of product, service, variety, etc.” Holmes has seen an increase in both traffic and revenue this year, a change Masuccio called “intentional.” One of the ways they increased traffic to Holmes was by limiting hours of other locations, he said.
“Some limiting had to happen because we only have x amount of participation for dinner service. And we have many opportunities across campus from The Village to Northside Commons to this building here,” Masuccio said. “We had to do something. Because if we’re trying to get participation in the [Holmes] area and have everything else available, then it’s not going to be realized.” Masuccio addressed a few of the other challenges they faced when redesigning the Holmes model. “With Holmes, in order to meet the objectives that we had for the reimagined service model, we had to double down on the efforts for that space,” Masuccio said. “That [Holmes] took up a lot of energy. We won’t deny that. That was one of our biggest initiatives for this year … it’s the recipe creation process, the creation of menus, a four-week cycle for lunch and dinner so that there’s not the same meal served every week or every other week.” One student responded to the survey with complaints about dining on campus. “As a student here, it is quite annoying when I want bigger portion sizes and actual food,” they said. “However, through the weekdays, my dinner options in Central Marketplace are Lion’s Rock and Fresh Bar. Especially if dinner at Holmes doesn’t seem appetizing that night.” The Holmes Dining Room also contains a large seating area that was previously open to the public but was limited in entry at the start
of this current academic year to Holmes customers only. Masuccio said that while they have heard student complaints about the lack of accessibility to the space, the solution is not as simple as students might believe. “It’s an ongoing conversation. We would love it if someone had a better idea than we have right now about how to permit access without creating risk,” such as theft, Masuccio said. “We won’t convert back the food side at all. We believe that’s been received very positively. Students that have participated see the variety, see the quality, see the opportunity to taste many different things … But the seating area is the one that there’s still more to be determined there. So if there’s any student feedback as far as ideas, we’d be happy to hear them.” When looking at where to focus their efforts, Masuccio stated that they typically look into the areas of Dining that are not performing well and focus a majority of their efforts into those areas. “That was kind of the one of the drivers behind the Holmes changes,” Masuccio said. “So it’s been good to see that increased participation.”
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