News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here
On this episode Abbey sits down for a fun Q&A with Dean Gresalfi, Daniela has the details on events coming up on campus this week in the Commons Calendar, and Santana brings in fellow MCL Producer Esme for a great interview in the Humans of the Commons segment.
Linda has all of the info you need about some great events happening around campus this week, including pumpkin painting and a showcase at the McGallery.
The Vanderbilt squirrels are an iconic part of the Vanderbilt community! It’s clear that there are a few different types of squirrels on campus, including but not limited to noisy squirrels, unpredictable squirrels, scavenging squirrels, and daring squirrels. If you’ve ever wondered which type of Vandy squirrel you are, take this quiz!!
[viralQuiz id=45]
I’ll admit: I am not the world’s biggest breakfast person. I don’t really like to eat large meals in the morning (it makes me nauseous), and classic breakfast foods like scrambled eggs and bacon are just alright to me. Despite that, I still like to eat a light meal in the mornings to give myself some energy. I might grab a cup of yogurt with some fruits, or perhaps a smoothie and a bagel. Stir-fried noodles and salad aren’t exactly top contenders on that list, but it’s inevitably what I end up having to eat on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of how early the breakfast ends in Commons.
My first class on those days is at 11 a.m. in that exact building—I clearly don’t have much of a reason to walk anywhere else to get my meal. I usually get to the dining hall at about 10 a.m. (which I think to be a perfectly reasonable hour for breakfast), and am always met with immense disappointment and heartbreak when I see that, for some reason unknown to man, it is officially lunchtime in Commons. At 10 a.m. in the morning! Who is eating lunch that early? I know that it’s not just me who thinks it’s odd either, because I’ve heard some of my friends voice the same opinion.
Of course, this isn’t my only frustration with campus dining hours. I wish that Rand was open on the weekends, or that I could get dinner later than 8 p.m., or that maybe I’d be able to get breakfast earlier than 9 a.m. on the weekends.
Actually, let me pause my original train of thought for a second, because I need to get this off my chest. The fact that the dining halls open so late on the weekends always rubs me the wrong way, because I’m forced to spend somewhere off campus for a meal if I have events in the morning. I’m thankfully not completely reliant on my meal plan, but it feels a bit icky that my only other reliable option is to starve if I don’t want to spend. Not to mention that morning people exist! I’m obviously not one of them, but I’m sure they’re out there somewhere!
But I digress. As I was saying, I clearly have other issues with campus dining. However, I understand that extending operating hours could potentially be difficult due to logistical issues with employees or something of the sort. They get the benefit of the doubt, because I think it would be a bit depressing to research and find out that the change is actually perfectly feasible, but is simply not happening because some executive doesn’t feel like making it happen. Also, things are getting better (or so I’ve heard from upperclassmen), even if there are issues still present.
That being said! I can’t see why it would be difficult to simply make the breakfast-lunch transition an hour later. Maybe I’m just giving away my ignorance with that statement. Even so, as much as I love noodles, I still think stir-fried noodles shouldn’t be a breakfast food. And that is a hill that I will hopefully not have to die on!