The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 VOLUME 146, NO. 8
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024
WashU reviews open campus policies
Bear’s Den launches All You Care to Eat Pilot Program
ODESSA BUELL KELLEN ZOBERI CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
MARCO ZHANG | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER A student serves themselves cookies as part of the new All You Care to Eat pilot program at the Bear’s Den. ODESSA BUELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Bear’s Den (BD) is piloting an All You Care to Eat (AYCTE) program that allows participants to enter the cafeteria twice for a onetime cost of $13.95 meal points, each time with access to as many menu items as they want. This option is available from Oct. 21 to Nov. 15, Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Washington University’s Dining Services has never offered an AYCTE program before, typically offering meal plans with a certain number of points that allow students to pay for entrees and sides a la carte instead. Dining Services hopes the AYCTE Pilot Program will reduce food waste and encourage in-person dining and community engagement. To try the AYCTE Pilot Program, participants must wait in line once to swipe a WashU ID or credit card at the cashier. They will then receive a receipt that allows them two trips into BD with unlimited access to any menu items. “Students expressed a desire for a model that offers the freedom to try different meals and eat to their satisfaction without buying individual items,” Dining Services wrote in an email. Sophomore Amira Sinclair said she was excited that the AYCTE Pilot Program made her meal more customizable. “I liked that I was able to try out multiple stations at a baseline price and kind of pick and choose what I
wanted from each. I wanted green beans from here and some fruit from there, and I wanted to top my sandwich with mushrooms from the salad bar,” Sinclair said. Sophomore Caroline Roth said that it may be more economical for some students because it allows them access to more food at a less expensive price than purchasing multiple rounds of entrees and sides to feel satisfied by their meal. “I think it might take a little time to get used to, but I think it’s overall a better value for what we’re paying for, and it could be more affordable for people with lower meal plans for sure,” Roth said. Sophomore Tali Jarmond has a contrasting opinion about the
students control their portions in the AYCTE program, there will be less food waste. “The variety of choices lets students try smaller portions without wasting a full meal. Dining services will monitor food preferences and adjust preparation to minimize leftovers,” Dining Services wrote. Some participants of the program said that they received more food, despite AYCTE’s stated goal of reducing food waste. Participants in the program are permitted to use plates to dine in and reusable containers, but not single-use ones. “Additionally, we’ve provided a sustainable option for students who prefer to take their meal to go, allowing them to use a reusable
“I definitely feel full, which is nice, maybe for the first time in a long time.” pricing, saying that it could be improved by offering various tiers of AYCTE at differing prices. “I have heard that some students would have appreciated if there were multiple different options with the amount of times you can go through the line, or have cheaper options in terms of sides or single plates and stuff,” Jarmond said. Jarmond explained that he may be paying more for certain meals now than he was before. “There [are] some days where I used to spend eight or nine meal points for my dinner. I can no longer do that with this program,” he said. Dining Services said that because
container for a single entry and fill it with their desired meal selections,” Dining Services wrote. Sophomore Shalini Vlcan felt more satisfied with the amount of food allotted to each participant through the AYCTE Pilot Program than the typical portions of singleserving meals at BD. This sentiment was shared among various participants in the program. “I definitely feel full, which is nice, maybe for the first time in a long time,” Vlcan said. Throughout the duration of the AYCTE Pilot Program, BD will not be receiving Grubhub orders, with the exception of Simple Servings
towards your professor whose first language isn’t English was rooted in something deeper than the perceived inconvenience it causes you. This experience is common among WashU students, and it sheds light on the far-reaching, deep-rooted issues with the course evaluation system.
Misogyny, in particular, has proven to be pervasive in course evaluations nationally, as shown in a study released by the Journal of the European Economic Association. Its findings determine that gender bias affects women significantly when they teach in male-dominated departments.
Express, which caters food prepared without the top nine food allergens. Roth said she would prefer the AYCTE Pilot Program not be fully implemented, noting the inconvenience of disbarring Grubhub orders. “I like the convenience of ordering online, and I think a lot of people might not like this new system as much because you can’t really do that,” Roth said. Jarmond said that the AYCTE Pilot Program decreased the amount of time it took to get food at BD. “It was definitely faster, being that most of the food was already prepared for me, and I could just go and select what I wanted,” he said. First-year Olivia Stokely said that she felt the lines for BD were longer than usual, but overall, the AYCTE Pilot Program enhanced her dining experience. “I feel like there’s obviously a few kinks to sort out like the lines, but other than that, I feel like it’s an improvement,” Stokely said. Dining Services touched on the importance of participant feedback in determining the future of the AYCTE Pilot Program. “Ultimately, the survey results will heavily influence whether or not an AYCTE program is fully implemented moving forward,” Dining Services wrote. To participate in the AYCTE Pilot Program, students, faculty, staff, and visitors can go to BD and give their input on the program through the Dining Services’ Satisfaction Survey
Washington University’s Board of Trustees recently established an ad hoc committee in response to last semester’s protests to examine the University’s open campus policies and promote campus safety. WashU’s open campus allows St. Louis community members to access its physical spaces and resources and provides students with more opportunities in the greater surrounding community. Changes to WashU’s open campus policy could potentially limit St. Louisan’s access to campus. Junior Ashton Lee, Vice President of Student Engagement for Student Union, emphasized the historical importance of WashU’s connection to St. Louis. “We were originally in downtown St. Louis as a night school and vocational school for the community,” Lee said. Senior Ava Kennard expressed that she would be interested in learning more about what the ad hoc committee is doing and what potential changes could mean for WashU’s role in the community. “I just wouldn’t want it to send the wrong message that we’re trying to be less connected with the St. Louis community,” Kennard said. The ad hoc committee has provided few public details on which policies they are reviewing but denied a request to comment. Emirates Trustee William B. Pollard III, chair of the ad hoc committee reviewing open campus policies, emphasized the importance of prioritizing safety on WashU’s campus in an interview with The Source. “Given the current climate of increased protest activity on campuses nationwide, the board wants to ensure that our policies are effective in maintaining a safe campus environment while upholding the core principles of freedom of expression and academic freedom,” Pollard told
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Rated Unfit: WashU’s course evaluation system ABBIE SAPIRA ANYA RAO STAFF WRITERS As the fall semester wraps up, you are swarmed with the stress of finals and the anticipation of winter break when you see the email appear in your inbox: “Reminder: Course Evaluations Are Open.” Begrudgingly, you decide to address them sooner rather than later, going through the motions of rating professors on inconsistent scales and answering the same multiple-choice questions 50 times over. Only if you have a really strong opinion do you leave a comment on the form. After finishing your last evaluation, you shut your computer, never to think of them again. However, in your haste to complete these evaluations, many serious issues may have passed you by. Some of your professors aren’t tenured which means that their evaluations may have serious implications for their jobs. Or, maybe some of your own implicit biases influenced your responses. Perhaps, your negative commentary
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Implicit bias Course evaluations have been marred with implicit and explicit biases since their conception. The Rutgers University School of Law released an article with evidence that students’ implicit biases heavily impact their evaluations of their professors. The studies indicate that much of the variance in student evaluations is based on aspects of the students themselves, not the course or the instructor. Another former president of AWF and Senior Lecturer of Technical Writing, Seema Dahlheimer, said women, people of color, and those who have an accent or aren’t native English speakers receive lower ratings on course evaluations.
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According to Vice Provost for Educational Initiatives, Jennifer Smith, many have been deliberating amending the course evaluations process for some time, but no significant action has been taken to make changes. The problems surrounding course evaluations are systemic and would require collaboration across schools to make any kind of progress. The AWF report provides recommendations about course evaluations relating to tenure and how to potentially address the low response rate; it also advises the Danforth Campus to adopt a standard set of questions using a seven-point scale.
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JAIME HEBEL | HEAD OF ILLUSTRATION The report also identifies that students don’t feel inclined to fill out their course evaluations when they don’t understand what they are used for. Zhu related to this issue. “Usually my professors are like, ‘Please submit the course evaluation if you can.’ I usually do it just because I think it helps them somehow,” Zhu said.
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