It’s Three O’Clock and I’m Hungry

Google “Harvard University Dining Hours.” One of the first results claims that Harvard University Dining Services are open from 7 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. This is, to put it nicely, a lie. In reality, Harvard dining halls are open for just a fraction of this time.

If you want breakfast between 10:15 and 11:30 a.m., Dunkin’ Donuts is open. If you are hungry between 2:30 and 5:00 p.m., you can go to Felipe’s or plenty of other restaurants in Harvard Square. But if you want to eat in campus dining halls during these times, you are simply out of luck.

For many Harvard students, this schedule does not impose a burden. Going to eat somewhere in Harvard Square because the dining hall is not open is entirely normal for students who can afford it. However, for a significant portion of the student body, the new class schedules, coupled with limited dining hall hours, mean that there is often not enough time to eat at a Harvard dining hall. For many of these same students, spending money to eat at a restaurant because the dining hall is closed is not financially viable. Money is an issue for a large number of Harvard students, and the current dining system is unequally harming those who cannot afford to dine elsewhere.

While the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative is generous and provides many opportunities for low-income students that would not be present at other colleges, the glaring effects that the dining system can have on these students cannot be ignored. Although the issue may not appear to be one of equality on the surface, it is clear that those who are affected by the current state of dining are low-income students who cannot afford alternatives.

While it is easy to recognize that Harvard’s dining services are far from perfect, finding a solution has proven more challenging. Keeping all dining halls open for longer, continuous hours has been a long dream of Harvard students. Yet, this would lead to considerable costs that would never be approved. Instead of such a massive shift in dining services, a more limited change could address this problem. Harvard should keep the majority of dining halls on the current schedule while leaving a single dining hall open continuously from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — without restrictions — to improve students’ access to food.

It would be ideal if this dining hall were to be in a centralized location somewhere on campus, but very few dining halls fit this description. In fact, there is one dining hall that could be described as centralized: the dining hall of the Inn at Harvard.

The Inn could have its schedule changed so that breakfast is served from 7 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. This would entail only changing the schedule of a single dining hall, and in return increase food accessibility to countless students.

Similar models where not all dining services are open at all times but at least one remains open almost all the time have been implemented to great success elsewhere. For example, Brown University has introduced a system where some dining halls provide service during 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., while other dining halls remain open until 2 a.m. The continuous access to food that this kind of system provides narrows one of the inequality gaps that is ever present in the minds of those affected by it.

If the change has been successfully implemented at other schools, why could it not be done here? All students deserve to be able to eat. Limiting students to a narrow window in which they can eat is unacceptable, especially considering how many of students have schedules limit their time to eat. Opening a single dining hall during the hours when others are closed would alleviate this issue. Harvard should take this step towards becoming a more equal place.

Colton J. Carpenter ’20, a Crimson Editorial comper, is a Government concentrator in Eliot House.