Flyers promoting a petition calling for Boston University’s dining halls to provide healthier food and a wider variety of choices began circulating campus on Feb. 2.
The petition asks respondents to share their thoughts on the dining halls before asking for a virtual signing of the petition.
The petition’s four main demands include implementing at least three different menu rotations at each dining hall station per week, three types of fresh fruit daily, including one berry option, collaborative menu planning with BU students and more produce from local farms and sustainable suppliers.
Katelyn-Rose Crocker and Rachel Stern, juniors and roommates, created the petition. Crocker — who is gluten-free — said she felt especially frustrated about the quality and variety of the food.
“The diversity of options is completely unacceptable for the caliber of the school, but also [for] how much we pay,” Crocker said. “Student well-being is greatly tied to what we can eat and what we can put in our bodies.”
Stern said that the lack of healthy choices makes it hard to properly nourish before exercising.
“We’re both rock climbers, and we go three or four times a week,” Stern said. “It’s really difficult to think about eating healthy and think about eating enough so I’m not dehydrated and malnourished and fainting while I’m working out.”
Crocker and Stern said they are focused on recruiting people to their cause and gathering data through the survey.
Currently, 280 people have given feedback. When asked to rate their satisfaction with food variety from one to five, 45.1% of the respondents rated this category with a one.
Crocker said that she’s received written responses from students because of the petition.
“People leave giant paragraphs talking about the dining hall’s impact on them and their mental health, especially people who are like me who have dietary restrictions … but also people from around the world and different cultures,” Crocker said.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley emphasized the efforts made by BU Dining Services to communicate with students.
“Last semester, more than 2,800 surveys were completed, leading to a variety of program enhancements. In addition to survey responses, Dining Services actively engages with students through in-person focus groups held multiple times each semester, as well as through email, direct conversations, and social media messages,” Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press. “Dining Services encourages any and all feedback and will meet with students in order to do so.”
Freshman Jocelyn Seadler said there’s a lack of variety at the Warren Towers Dining Hall.
“Warren’s my least favorite dining hall, just because there’s not a lot of food options. It’s basically the same thing almost every day,” Seadler said.
Crocker and Stern said their posters are being unfairly targeted for removal and don’t feel supported by BU administration. Stern said she has attempted to contact administration through email but did not receive a response.
“It’s very reminiscent to what happened last year with the TAs and the RAS, where any kind of action they tried to take was quickly silenced or cracked down on by the University,” Stern said.
In the upcoming month, Crocker and Stern hope to organize a “mock town hall,” where BU administration and officials from BU Dining can speak with students about their dining hall experiences.
Ultimately, Stern wants to create long-term reform in the BU dining halls.
“Our end plan is to work with the dining hall and BU administration to have better dining hall foods and some kind of institutionalized, systemic change that will last after we’re gone,” Stern said.
Junior Paula Poalasin enjoys the bowls and sandwiches at Warren but agrees on the necessity of more fruit choices.
“I found myself agreeing with the fresh fruit option,” Poalasin said. “I only have melon to eat in there, and I don’t really enjoy that. I’d love some strawberries, maybe some cherries.”
Crocker said the quality of the dining halls is an accessibility issue.
“Students that have more money, access and resources can afford to get more meals and supplement their day through that, but people who can’t afford it have to go to the dining hall every single day,” Crocker said. “You shouldn’t have to supplement your meal plan with other food because you cannot stand the taste and the quality of the dining hall at this campus.”
CORRECTION: a previous version of this article included a statement from Crocker claiming to have contracted E. coli from the Warren Towers Dining Hall. This has not been confirmed to be true. The updated article reflects this change.
