Choosing to live on Centennial Campus is choosing a somewhat quieter existence than living anywhere else at State, and that’s probably putting it mildly. Yes, it’s true: Besides Hunt Library and the engineering buildings, Centennial Campus consists of mostly grassy knolls, trees and wide, open space. In fact, if you don’t live on Centennial or take classes there, you probably don’t find yourself in the area a lot, unless you’re going to Hunt. Hey, you might even find yourself forgetting that we exist at all. But, I am fine with the quiet aspect of that part of campus.

What I am not fine with, at all, is the food options we are provided with. Or I should say, the lack thereof.

Those who live on North or Central and South campuses are blessed with an abundance of options from restaurants at Talley Student Union, to the Atrium, to the dining halls, to all of the restaurants on Avent Ferry Road and Hillsborough Street. But, if you, like me, live at Wolf Ridge or Campus Greens, you may have noticed we don’t have the same luck. We have a food court, but the hours that it is open are very short, and so the options are limited.

On the Oval is the food court located in the Wolf Ridge Apartment Complex on Centennial. It’s great, in theory. There’s Cold Fusion Salads and Deli if you’re attempting to be healthy or maybe want one of their quesadillas (which I personally recommend). There’s Fahrenheit Pizza or Flashpoints Global if you want “international” food and, finally, Newton’s Grill, if you want cheeseburgers or chicken tenders.

All of these are very viable options. But, there’s one large caveat. 

All of these places besides Newton’s are only open until 2 p.m. Monday–Friday. And all these places, besides Newton’s, are completely closed on the weekends. This is not at all reasonable.

Now, I could possibly understand closing at 2 p.m. if these places opened early in the morning, but they all open at 10 a.m. This means there is a mere four-hour period in which students are supposed to get food from these places.  

In all fairness, Newton’s Diner stays open until 10 p.m., Mondays–Fridays, and is open until 8 p.m. on the weekends, but unless you’re trying to eat burgers or chicken tenders every single day, this still doesn’t fix the problem.

Wolf Ridge resident Nortee Louder, a senior studying textile engineering, echoed this sentiment. 

“I think that there’s not any options for students on Centennial; well, there is in the day time, but it cuts off at 2 o’clock,” Louder said. “That’s not fair because some students might have class all day and when you come back, it’s just Newton’s or burgers every day.”

Now, cheeseburgers are delicious, but no one wants to eat them every single day. And as pointed out by Louder, students have busy schedules and cannot always get food at a traditional time. A lot of students at Wolf Ridge probably cook, or can drive to other places; there are, however, students without cars who depend on the meal plan. And regardless of those factors, I believe that all of the students living on Centennial Campus deserve better options.

There’s also the fact that if you are a vegan/vegetarian student, a student attempting to stay healthy or a student who just wants more variety, unless you can get to Cold Fusion before the 2 p.m. cutoff, you’re just out of luck if you want decent choices.

I know that Centennial residents live in what is virtually a completely different universe, but we deserve better. By simply expanding dining hours until maybe 7 p.m. every day, for every dining facility in the Oval, the dining services team could provide just that.   

I understand the dining staff already works hard to cook for students every day, and I don’t overlook that. In fact I greatly appreciate it. I also understand that the Wolfline is available for students to go eat on other parts of campus. But, it simply feels sort of defeatist to have On the Oval open if it is only going to stay open for such a small window of time. I’m just asking to enjoy my quesadillas after 2 p.m. Students who live on Centennial do exist, and we’re hungry.