Tray-Free Campus Dining Halls?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Bad news for those dudes you remember from your college dining hall who drank eight glasses of milk with every meal: Some college cafeterias are getting rid of trays.

Why abandon this collegiate tradition? According to the NY Times, reasons to hate on trays abound: Washing them requires a lot of water (Williams college has saved 14,000 gallons of water ever year since they shelved trays); they encourage food waste (Rochester Institute of Technology spent 10 percent less on food without trays); and they’re ugly.

Some have also speculated that sans trays, students might be too lazy to make multiple trips to the pasta bar (Penne Station, anyone?). But that’s really giving college kids the short shrift:

“I like not having to carry a tray around,” said Peter McInerney, a freshman here at Skidmore College, as he grabbed a midafternoon snack of an egg sandwich, pancakes and apple juice.

Glad to see the freshman fifteen thriving in these trayless times.

The truth needs defenders. Be one.

For 50 years, Mother Jones has been publishing investigative journalism that doesn’t hold back. We’re independent from corporations and uninfluenced by those in power. Our commitment is solely to the truth.

That’s only possible because of you.

Our nonprofit newsroom is funded by donors from every state in the union—blue, red, and purple, all part of a community of readers who care about the future of our democracy.

This week is our spring membership drive, and we need 1,000 new donations to fund the urgent investigations already in our pipeline. Be the reason these stories get told. Make a donation to fund independent journalism, and help us reach our goal this week.

The truth needs defenders. Be one.

For 50 years, Mother Jones has been publishing investigative journalism that doesn’t hold back. We’re independent from corporations and uninfluenced by those in power. Our commitment is solely to the truth.

That’s only possible because of you.

Our nonprofit newsroom is funded by donors from every state in the union—blue, red, and purple, all part of a community of readers who care about the future of our democracy.

This week is our spring membership drive, and we need 1,000 new donations to fund the urgent investigations already in our pipeline. Be the reason these stories get told. Make a donation to fund independent journalism, and help us reach our goal this week.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate