An email was sent to every 5C student today offering important updates regarding cross-campus dining. After nearly two years of no cross-campus dining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the email stated that 5C dining could occur next semester, assuming a few key benchmarks are met.
First, cross campus dining cannot begin “until we have data about the [COVID-19] infection rates post-break, students have completed 3 weeks of COVID-19 testing, we see that positivity rates across the 5Cs remain low, and that the overall public health situation in the area does not worsen due to an expected winter surge.”
Second, “restarting cross-campus dining will depend on our ability to effectively open, staff, and supply our dining halls for all 5C students. We need to consider that, during the fall semester, many of our dining services have experienced staffing and supply chain shortages. Our dining managers are working hard to fill positions and to analyze the impact of cross-campus dining on each of the College’s dining operations in light of these challenges.”
The leadership of the five colleges will re-evaluate this decision “no later than the week of February 7th”.
A recent campaign on Instagram, called “Time2Dine5C”, recently created a survey to “pressure 5C admin” to open up dining for the 5Cs. The anonymous survey asked students what school they attended, their current meal plan, and whether or not they would change their meal plan if cross campus dining was open. It is unknown how many students filled this petition out, and whether or not it swayed the administration's decision. This student-created survey reflects student angst over the uncertainty surrounding cross-campus dining, which has been a hallmark of the Claremont Consortium for years.