By Becca Sufrin
Transcript Correspondent
In the fall of 2013, the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center (HWCC) Food Court will appear much different and offer new and improved options. Gene Castelli, Chartwells resident district manager; the Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees; and the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) have been spearheading the project for about a year.
Junior Julia Zak, WCSA representative at large, has become involved in this discussion process.
Now that it is finally coming to fruition, she said the new food court will have a significantly larger salad bar, extensive soup options and a Papa John’s pizza station that will serve individual pizzas.
The checkout lanes will also be slanted to avoid crowding during the noon hour, when student traffic is at its heaviest. The seating sections on either side of the retail area will also be renovated—they will be less “blocked off” from one another, according to Zak.
“The hope is that the rooms will be more open so people can feel free to have open dialogue,” she said. “Thus, it will provide a more aesthetically pleasing space to eat.”
Another change to the Food Court will be an increase in vegetarian and gluten-free options.
“The chefs are also now attempting to implement student-suggested recipes into their daily food options,” Zak said. “There is an effort to introduce people to different global tastes on a more regular basis.”
Junior Stephanie Martineau fully supports the renovations.
“I think it’s really smart that they are keeping up with the trend of updating areas around campus, especially as the number of students here increases,” she said. “It’s so important for commonly used spaces to be able to accommodate more people.”
Martineau is also looking forward to the wider variety of healthier food options.
Zak said the renovation will cost less than $750,000, which is an impressive feat for Ohio Wesleyan.
“As we try to encourage intellectual growth on this campus, it is important to match that in other environments that we provide to our students,” she said.
The new Food Court will be open next fall.