With the upcoming change of Activity Hour next semester, both student organizations and other on-campus groups are scrambling to come up with a plan to work around this new 3 p.m.-4 p.m. slot change.
With students considering the school cafeteria to be one of the major social places at the university, one might wonder if the school’s dining service Sodexo has a game plan of sorts for the Fall 2010 semester.
Most of the cafeteria’s activity comes from that hour and students expect major changes coming this Fall. Bill Reich, the General Manager of Sodexo believes that everything will remain the same more or less.
There is no doubt that the 1:40p.m. to 2:40 p.m. slot is very busy every Tuesday and Thursday at NEIU. Whether students are coming to participate in the Student Union sponsored events, coming to grab a bite to eat, study or talk with friends, the cafeteria has become one of the get-together places of the commuter university.
“Most of our business comes at Activity Hour,” says Reich. Many are concerned about activity around the campus dwindling down due to the move to 3 p.m. Due to Northeastern being a commuter campus, many people with morning classes tend to leave around this time in order to make it home before rush hour hits.
However, Reich does not believe that the change will be that much of a damper on Sodexo activity.
“The patterns would shift for that hour,” he said, believing that cafeteria business will resume as normal, with little to no kinks in the middle.
It remains to be seen, however, once the change goes into effect. Along with cafeteria traffic, student-organized activities in the cafeteria may take a hamper due to the change.
Reich’s optimistic view of the change shows that Sodexo is completely ready for what is to come. He mentions that one cannot completely anticipate what is exactly going to happen, but you can be prepared, and that is what he and Sodexo are going to do come Fall 2010.