Harvard cuts hot breakfast to lukewarm student reaction

It’s not on the menu, but a toasted hard-boiled egg burrito may be one of the few ‘- albeit improvised ‘- hot breakfast options available to Harvard University students this year.

Harvard, while remaining the school with the highest endowment in the country, stopped serving hot breakfast this fall in all but one of its dining halls on weekdays due to budget cuts for spring 2009, university officials said.

The decision doesn’t sit well with some students.

‘Students were upset when they heard the announcement in the spring,’ Harvard sophomore Nima Khavanin said. ‘But they were more upset this fall when they walked into the dining hall and instead of finding French toast, omelettes and some sort of meat, they found a few slices of cold cantaloupe.”

Khavanin, who is on the Harvard football team, said athletes are especially affected by the budget cuts.

‘We’re not going to be able to get enough nutrition in the offseason,’ he said.

Harvard spokesman Jeff Neal said in an email the cuts were made based on ‘short- and long-term projected budget deficits.’

‘Data indicated that most students didn’t take advantage of the hot breakfast option,’ Neal said. ‘The particular decision was the result of a thoughtful process.’

Khavanin said Harvard is directing the budget cuts toward the wrong expense areas.

‘[Harvard is] spending money on unnecessary things like bright lawn chairs that recently showed up on the Harvard yard,’ Khavanin said.

But not all students said they were upset with the university doing away with hot breakfast.’

Harvard senior Matthew Klayman, who admitted he was never really a fan of breakfast, said he could see the rationality behind the cut.

‘I understand that it’s been complicated and there have been a lot of layoffs, so budget cuts without layoffs are preferable,’ Klayman said.