Princeton Extends Dining Hours

As it prepares to emulate Harvard’s House system, Princeton’s dining services is doing the Crimson one better.

Princetonians will enjoy expanded dining hall hours starting next academic year, including a “late dinner” from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., according to The Daily Princetonian.

The change comes as part of a plan to create a new four-year residential college system at the New Jersey school, modeled after dorms at Harvard and Yale.

The new hours are seen as a way to break down the social and culinary monopoly held by Princeton’s Eating Clubs, which play a large role in student life.

Hungry Tigers will be able to start devouring their meals at 7:30 a.m. next year. A “late lunch” will be added from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and dinner will last from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The school’s Dining and Social Options Task Force recommended the expanded hours as part of a larger report on student dining.

The report also suggests adding more intimate dining spaces, special catering arrangements with student organizations, and the possibility of serving alcohol in dining hall settings.

The new hours will also allow for more flexible dining options for students who wish to stay on a college meal plan, according to the report.

Last month, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) said it would not expand Harvard’s dining hours, citing an upcoming budget deficit and inefficient dollar-per-student ratios.

In an e-mail, Executive Director of HUDS Ted A. Mayer wrote that the two Ivies have very different dining needs.

“The differences between Harvard and Princeton’s meal plans are more than perception,” Mayer wrote, noting that “the inherent inefficiencies of so many dining operations all offering the same menu and operating the same hours, the one mandatory meal plan...and wage differentials” are all factors in Harvard’s decision not to expand its hours.

The Princeton report does not mention any budgetary specifics. Stu Orefice, Director of Princeton Dining Services, did not return a call for comment.