by Ariana West
Many athletes and non athletes that live on campus depend on the cafeteria for every meal and The Bean Scene for their caffeine needs. However, the hours of operation at both, cause some students to miss meals at the cafeteria, and others to go to class tired without their daily dose of coffee.
Simpson University has two different places for dining on campus, The Bean Scene and the Emeriti Dining Center, or as known by the Simpson community, “The Caf.” At The Bean Scene, students can grab a coffee or smoothie on their way to class.
According to the school website, students can also buy, “house-made soups, grab-n-go items, pastries, desserts, locally baked gluten-free pastries.” The Bean Scene also has couches and tables that students can gather to study or hang out with friends. The Bean Scene is open from Monday thru Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is closed on Sundays.
Kaci Pebley, a first year nursing student stated, “I wish The Bean Scene opened at six in the morning because many of my classes start at seven a.m. which means I cannot grab myself a coffee and a quick bite to eat before class on those days.”
Other students agree that the hours of operation at The Bean Scene should be changed as well.
Ruby Daube, a junior basketball player here at Simpson, explained that, “The Bean Scene should be open at least half the day on Sundays so students can still get coffee and snacks.”
Many students enjoy doing their homework in The Bean Scene instead of the library but find it hard to do so when it is not always open.
According to sophomore golfer, Eric Norris, “The Bean Scene should always be open because the library is not the best place to study because it’s hard to talk in groups since you have to be pretty quiet in the library.”
Maybe a resolution to these problems could be having The Bean Scene open at all times for students to hang out or study in, but have the hours of selling coffee and snacks remain the same, with the addition of it being open half the day on Sundays.
As previously mentioned, students are not pleased with the hours of operation at the cafeteria either, especially athletes.
Daube also mentioned that, “As an athlete it’s kind of hard to work around The Caf hours because we either have practice or games that usually interfere the dinner time so we usually have to go out and spend our own money on food.”
For students without cars, catching a ride with a teammate or friend might be their only chance to get dinner. If not, they might have no choice but to skip dinner entirely. Students that live on campus and pay for a meal plan are having to miss meals because the cafeteria is not open when they get out of practice or a game. Eating right when the cafeteria opens, before practice is not a choice either, as this could lead to athletes getting sick during their sport. Is this fair?
Norris proposed the idea that, “The Caf should be opened from 4:00-9:00 p.m. so that athletes can still make it to the cafeteria after their practice or game.”
The sooner these new hours of operation are put in place, the sooner athletes won’t have to worry about skipping meals.
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