The Cafeteria is Back to Normal: What Does That Mean?

Written by Kaitlin Toy

The cafeteria is finally back to normal from the corona virus pandemic. What does this mean for the students who had to experience COVID restrictions in the cafeteria? For freshmen, this is the normal. But for the upper classmen, they are excited to have the grill, the pizza, and the sub zone back.  During COVID, we had to shut down everything on the grill station line. The only thing that was open was the line out in the front of the cafeteria. The staff had to serve every student their own food as they were required to wear a mask while standing over a well that had steam blowing in their faces. The students are allowed to eat without feeling self-conscious. Because we must get a new plate every time, we go up to ask for a little bit more because they gave us a small serving. 

Now that the cafeteria is back to normal, we now have fresh cut rotisserie, a full salad bar, fresh cut fruit, and the whole omelet station. None of the now sophomores were able to experience this last year. For the sophomores, last year they had to have their food served to them by the staff. They had to sit with a chair in-between every person because they weren’t allowed to sit by their friends. Samuel Sauer, a freshman last year had to experience COVID regulations his freshman year without experiencing the cafeteria at its finest. Samuel stated, “It is definitely a relief – there are sprinkle options for your desserts!” Now he can enjoy going into the cafeteria and being able to choose his own food without having any limitations.

I also got the chance to talk to junior Brin Herndon who experienced being in the cafeteria while it was normal her freshman year and during COVID her sophomore year. Brin said, “I am glad that it is back to normal, I just wish that the staff was having a better time! The cafeteria is understaffed, so I always feel bad when we have a rush, because they are running around trying to serve everyone!” For being someone who had to experience both working in the cafeteria and as a college student during COVID, I am glad that the cafeteria is back to normal. We all went through so much during the COVID pandemic. I can speak for most of the people when I say that we are so glad to have things back to normal. Now the big question is, “When will the chicken strips be back at the grill!”