College ponders Proctor's fate

Author: Kelly Janis

In an effort to rejuvenate an aging Proctor Dining Hall, College officials are currently deliberating future renovations that would bring the building up to the standards of other campus dining halls. While a final decision has yet to be made, the possibility of commencing construction as soon as August 2007 is on the table.

"At this time the President and the Board have not decided about either the short-term or long-term prospects for Proctor," said Associate Vice President of Facilities Services Susan Personette. "This issue is still very much in play."

"Nothing would happen until next August, if anything were to happen regarding closing Proctor," said Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette. "We know that Proctor is the place that students like to be creative. We understand that the salad bar is a hugely important place. I like to use the analogy of an old flipper. Proctor might look ugly, it might look worn out, but, man is it comfortable."

In spite of its popularity with students, the dining hall's configuration has its share of drawbacks. "Proctor has what I call the magic wall of food," said Biette. "We don't see who is in line. At Atwater and Ross, we see you coming, so we know to make food, because there you are. We can see how much food to produce, and therefore, we're cooking to what the need is at that point."

Ultimately, excessive food waste is thus averted. More open kitchen arrangements would also aid students with special requests or food allergies who need to communicate with cooks, rather than having to head downstairs in search of the kitchen, according to Biette.

Renovating Proctor could also better integrate its beloved amenities with the facility. One proposal is the installation of "a real, live, honest-to-goodness, thought out panini bar," said Biette, including a so-called "cold well" which is "not necessarily a salad bar, but a salad-bar-like line, refrigerated and set up with cutting boards, so you could work down the line as if we were making a sandwich for you."

Food quality is also an area of concern.

"I'm spending your money," said Biette. "If I can spend your money wisely, we could put better food on the plate. Ideally, we look at something like the Commons barbecue that happens in April, and right now it's burgers and dogs. I think it would be great if we could make it better. If we had money to make that better, then, gee whiz, couldn't we make other things better along the way, too?"

Another factor is that of versatility. "One of the big pieces is to be able to close off that serving area to have the use of the dining room as a social space," Biette said. "We would like to change the furniture into something Atwater-like, which is very easily moved."

Ultimately, Biette is a proponent of Proctor's renovation. "It's old, tired and worn, and parts are failing," he said. "It just needs to be the appropriate answers to all the questions. The infrastructure needs something more than a Band-Aid."

Approximately 425 students enrolled in the French and Spanish Summer Language Schools dine simultaneously in Proctor during the summer months. For this reason, Biette explained, any renovations which take place would need to be done during the school year, likely with Freeman International Center opening to contain more than language tables in order to absorb displaced diners. Proctor servery employee Ashley Harrington is likewise concerned with hypothetical issues of space. "This place definitely needs to be fixed," she said. "But they need to open another dining hall before they can shut this one down."

Many students are in favor of renovations, but with qualifications. "Just as long as they keep the curtains and the plants, it's okay," said David Dolginow '09.

Matt Vaughan '09 expanded upon this sentiment. "The renovations don't matter, so long as there continues to be strangely flavored chicken breast every night, and lots of pilaf," he said.

Others are somewhat apathetic. "I'm not going to be here next year," Maren Schultz '07 said, "but I'm just glad Proctor made it this far."

Some of Proctor's diners are less than enthusiastic about the dining hall's proposed transformation. "I don't want Proctor to change," said Haruko Tanaka '09. "Proctor has a comfortable, homey atmosphere. The lounge needs to stay. I like the food here. I like how it's artsy. I just really hope that they don't change everything."

"As of right now, there are plans to make plans to make plans," said Biette, "but nothing is solidified in stone.