Emily Rocchio

Connie Douglas
UWRT 1101-011
7 November 2016
Ethnography
The observer walked into the South Village Dining Hall at 10:55am on a Monday
morning and sat down at a booth with her notebook and pencil. It was not very busy at this time,
with only about fifty people inside. She observed many students eating alone with headphones in
while on their phones. She noticed a just few older people, maybe professors, eating a meal as
well. At 11:06, the observer noted a man and woman, about forty years old, dressed in business
casual attire eating lunch and having an in-depth conversation. She later noticed a man in a suit
that looked about fifty years old getting a drink from the drink machine. The observer also
noticed that many people set their backpack down at a table and then left their belongings
unattended while they left to get a plate of food. Throughout the observers hour long
observation, she noticed that a line of people accumulated at the burger station, which seemed to
be one of the most favored options at the dining hall.
For the interview, the observer decided to go back to the South Village Dining Hall and
interview an employee to see things from their side of the counter. The observer interviewed a
woman named Gratiana, who has been working there for a week, to hear her thoughts of her job
thus far. She said the title of her job is a Cook and she either prepares food or makes pizzas. She
plans to work five days a week, and each day her shift is eight hours long. Gratiana gets to work
at 2pm and works at lunch and dinner time. She said that since she is an employee, she gets to eat
a free meal before her shift begins. She says she likes the taste of the food a lot and would rate it
a 10 out of 10. She was then asked when the dining hall is the busiest, in which she said the rush

starts at 5 oclock and the peak time is 6:30pm. She said that so far, she has no complaints about
her job and does not find it stressful. However, she did say that her favorite part of the day is
when she can clean up and go home. Being a vegetarian, the observer agreed with Gratiana and
too feels that there are not enough options for vegetarians in the dining hall.
Vegetarians form a small minority in the United States, therefore, it makes sense that
college dining halls lack an appropriate amount of meatless options. In fact, the Humane
Research Council recorded that only 3.2 percent of American adults self-identify as vegetarian
(Parks and Evans). One major issue of eating in the dining hall is that dishes are often mislabeled
or just do not have a label at all with the name of the dish and/or the ingredients. This poses a
hassle for vegetarians because they must find an employee and ask them if there is any meat in
the dish. If that staff member does not know for sure, they will then try to find out if another
employee knows or they will just simply say I dont know. This leaves the student feeling
hesitant to eat that dish or anything else in the dining hall since they do not have a clear answer.
The lack of reliable options in the dining hall may also affect the students housing decision. At
many schools, living on campus also means that a meal plan is required. For example, in the
Dietary Identities in High Education article, vegetarian college students were surveyed and
several of them wished to live in apartments with kitchens and prepare many of their own
meals simply because of the struggle of eating at the dining hall (Parks and Evans). The
downside of this is it is much more time consuming, especially when college students have
classes, homework and a social life.
Most of the vegetarian friendly foods currently in college dining halls are not exactly
nutritious options. Pizza, pasta and salad have made their mark in college cafeterias as "safe"
staples for the vegetarianthere is a severe absence of vegetables and protein-rich ingredients

(Patel). More vegetarian options need to be implemented on college campuses; and these options
should be wholesome foods, not just meatless products. For example, Indiana UniversityBloomington, ranked as the #1 most vegetarian friendly college by peta2, has sesame noodle and
pea pod casserole. Yale University is ranked as #4 with BBQ vegan ribs, and New York
University is at #7 with spinach and sun dried tomato risotto. If universities took the time to
think out nourishing vegetarian options, many more students would be satisfied and would not
mind paying for a campus meal plan.
The demand for meatless meals has never been higher and youths are leading the
chargeNearly one-quarter of college students ask for vegan options in school cafeterias
(Creighton). More universities need to make the initiative to incorporate broader food choices for
their students. The vegetarian population is increasing along with the number of vegan and
gluten-intolerant students. As society becomes more progressive and diverse with its dietary
needs, colleges all over the world need to adapt in order to benefit their students. Students will be
happier and more willing to spend their money on the food provided by their university.

Works Cited
Creighton, Judy. "Ontario campuses win kudos." Toronto Star (Canada) n.d.: Newspaper Source
Plus. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Parks, Rodney L., and Brett A. Evans. Dietary Identities In Higher Education: Attracting And
Accommodating Vegetarian and Vegan Students. College And University 89.3 (2014):
12-23. Eric. Web. 29 Oct 2016.

Patel, Pooja. Whats A Veggie Student To Do? Hinduism Today 33.4 (2011): 66-69. Academic
Search Comlete. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.