(Matt Lanter | Student Life)

In an effort to improve safety off campus and alleviate students’ fears about walking home at night, Washington University instituted a one-way shuttle service for students and staff who want a safe ride home.

“Over the years we’ve had occasional requests from students for a late-night shuttle home, but we’ve never done it,” Associate Vice Chancellor for Operations Steve Hoffner said. “This year we decided it was time to reconsider the idea and look at all our off-campus services.”

The service, Campus2Home, made its first run on Monday. According to Chief of Police Don Strom, 30 students took advantage of the service on the first night. Huntleigh Shuttleport, which also runs the campus circulation, provides

Campus2Home. Several 10-passenger vans leave Mallinckrodt every 30 minutes from 7 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., seven nights a week. The buses also stop in front of Brookings steps and are available to students, faculty and staff.

People who use the vans give the driver the address to their home, where the driver drops them off and does not leave until the passenger is safely inside. There are no plans to institute a shuttle service from home to campus. If operated year-round, seven nights a week, the service would cost $230,000, but Hoffner does not anticipate that the program will run during the summer months.

“We are doing long-range planning for off-campus areas that we own, and now looked like a time when we should look at not only this but the quality of off-campus housing, and come up with a more comprehensive approach as to what we are doing,” Hoffner said.

Campus2Home is just one program that the University is providing for off-campus housing.

According to Hoffner, the off-campus safety forum on Jan. 27 led to some of the current ideas planned for the long-term development of the off-campus community. The University is already in the process making improvements to the Quadrangle apartments, which include fixing doors, increasing lighting, replacing windows and putting in a more-resilient window screen. Officials are also working on improving the street lighting in areas around the apartments and adding more blue light phones.

Campus2Home is currently an experiment, according to Hoffner, but it could develop if it proves to be successful.

“We will watch it carefully and see how many students use it,” Hoffner said. “We will listen to feedback from students who use the service, and we will re-evaluate if we want to continue it at the end of the semester.”

Strom said that while the University had been planning the implementation of these off-campus improvements before the December assault of a graduate student, the incident added motivation for the University to improve the safety of off-campus apartments and houses.

“Whenever you have an incident such as the one in December, there is a natural reflection process that you engage in and should engage in to review the processes and the programs that are in place and decide whether they continue to best serve the community,” Strom said. “We did some internal review and engaged in outreach meetings with students and staff so that there are ideas on the table for consideration.”

“After the internal reviews were completed, the University decided that this was the best time to implement [the shuttle service],” Strom said.

According to Strom, WUPD has been taking extra precautions to promote off-campus security. A brochure is available with information and advice about living off campus, and WUPD has posted a video to its Web site.

“We continue to try to educate students about campus crime in their neighborhoods and how they can protect themselves,” Strom said. “People need to follow guidelines for off-campus safety to happen.”

Strom believes that the program has potential to increase in ridership throughout the semester.

“The momentum has never been that strong for a shuttle service, but at this moment, the momentum is there for the service,” Strom said.

Bon Appétit Resident District Manager Nadeem Siddiqui answers a question about the decision to switch from Einstein’s to Companion bagels last year, at the dining forum on Tuesday. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

While long lines and waits are not trademarks of Washington University, any student entering a dining area on campus during its busiest hours may be met with a disarray of people from all different directions.

To minimize any disorderliness or inconveniences in the dining experience, Student Union, the Congress of the South 40 and the University administration have made efforts to address these issues. Tuesday night saw an open forum where students could voice their concerns about campus dining and hear about future plans from school officials.

Around 35 students were present—many of whom were from SU and the CS40.

Steve Hoffner, associate vice chancellor for operations, and Nadeem Siddiqui, resident district manager for Bon Appétit, served on a panel to respond to questions from students, along with other officials from on-campus dining facilities.

Representatives from SU and the CS40 said they were pleased with the forum.

“A lot of people are uncomfortable with the current changes, so [this forum] puts a face on Dining Services,” said sophomore Hannah Bowling, speaker of CS40.

“Students could feel they could have a chance to make themselves heard,” said junior Greg Schweizer, chair for the SU Campus Services Committee.

Long lines

Dining Services is working on reducing congestion. Part of this effort is integrating WebFood into the dining experience so that students can pick up their food in the Danforth University Center (DUC) without having to stand in line.

Dining Services is looking into implementing WebFood on the South 40 in addition to the DUC to help relieve lines there, too. One SU senator suggested making an iPhone application for WebFood.

Even with WebFood, long lines will still exist—but not without reason. Because chefs prepare food in front of students and allow students to pick exactly what they want on their plates, lines naturally move more slowly. On the upside, the food remains fresh, is not prepackaged and is made to each individual’s requirements.

“We can get rid of the lines, but I’m pretty sure we’d have a dining service you wouldn’t be happy with and we wouldn’t be happy with,” Hoffner said.

Dining hours

Customer counts are being kept campus-wide to determine volume differences throughout the day and in different locations. Many students requested later-night dining—especially in the Village. With customer counts, Dining Services can figure out when is best to close—preventing resources from being wasted—and allocate resources to later hours.

The upper level of the South 40 House only contains one station open on Fridays and Saturdays, as last year’s customer count indicated that only a trickle of students went during those nights.

Ursa’s hours have been extended this year to better accommodate students.

Health

Some students expressed concerns that portion sizes are smaller this year. Dining Services said, however, that they have made portions to fit the Food and Drug Administration national standards in the past four years.

Dining Services is also working to serve as much fresh and locally grown food as possible. For Siddiqui, the most important part of his job is to ensure that the food students eat is “the safest, cleanest and doesn’t have the chemicals—it doesn’t have the bad stuff, but it has the best stuff.”

Money

Dining Services is charged by the University not to make money and not to lose it, but to break even, which factors into how the hours for each dining location are decided.

Currently, undergraduates bear the burden of overhead charges, as each meal point costs more than $1. Part of the rationality behind this is that undergraduates are the main reason why dining facilities remain open until the late hours.

The administration, however, is looking to change this system. One suggestion is to increase the price of all campus food by 10 percent so everyone bears the overhead charge.

With this increase, undergraduates would actually receive a discount with their meal plans.

Locations

Most of Dining Services’ focus has been on the DUC and the South 40, which some have objected to.

“We feel the Village may have been a bit neglected,“ Hoffner said.

Subway’s contract with the University ends in June. A committee is in the works to look into whether students would prefer to keep Subway or add another fast food eatery.

In the past, the University has housed a Chick-Fil-A, whose contract was not renewed due to its unhealthy perception among students, and a Taco Bell, which closed after students protested the unfair treatment of its employees.

Construction

Construction has had a significant impact on dining on the South 40. One difference is that students are now eating out of disposable boxes instead of on china plates, because the South 40’s facilities do not currently have a dishwasher.

As there is no pizza oven on the South 40, Dining Services does not serve pizza there.

“We actively seek student input on all of our services and programs. We listen, and we make changes when they are reasonable and within our ability to do so,” Hoffner wrote in an e-mail to Student Life.

The University also placed in top rankings for several subcategories, including 10th in both “Best Campus Food” and “Dorms Like Palaces.”

Two newly arrived freshmen unpack and assemble their room on move-in day in August. Washington University ranked fourth in terms of quality of life, according to the 2010 version of an annual survey by The Princeton Review. The survey judges universities on numerous factors, like dorms, food and overall happiness. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The publication surveys more than 122,000 students each year to rank 20 schools in a variety of categories for its “Best 371 Colleges” book. The 2010 rankings came out in July.

The Quality of Life category judges schools based on the quality of their food, dorms, campus accessibility and attraction, safety, surrounding communities, administrative operation and students’ interactions, friendliness and overall happiness.

Rice University was ranked at No. 1 in Quality of Life, followed by Bowdoin College, Claremont McKenna College and Washington University. Other schools featured in the category include Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Middlebury College, Smith College, Barnard College, St. Michael’s College and Clemson University.

Justin Carroll, associate vice chancellor for students and dean of students, also noted the role of students’ feedback in the University’s high quality of life ranking.

“[Continuing to seek input of our students and other University colleagues] is the way things are done here—it is part of our campus culture,” Carroll said.

A Campus Services Committee within Student Union and headed by junior Greg Schweizer focuses on improving non-academic aspects of the University, such as dining, transport, security, residential life and sustainability. An administrator sits in on the committee’s weekly meetings to ensure that its members are aware of new developments within the University. The process also allows the committee to make suggestions about campus life to the administration.

Last week, the committee met with Hoffner and Nadeem Siddiqui, resident district manager for Bon Appétit. According to the SU blog, the committee suggested that certain food items from last year’s menus be returned as meal options, the possibility of a crepe night in Ursa’s Café and the use of biodegradable plastic water cups.

Dining Services is already incorporating some of these suggestions into practice, according to Hoffner.

The administration takes recommendations from students in other forms as well, such as through comment cards and advisory committees for dining services and parking and transportation.

“The administration is responsive because they care about undergrads,” Schweizer said.

Schweizer said he believes the University is worthy of its ranking.

“I think we have a really great quality of life,” he said. “I think our dining is superb. I think our housing for the most part is far above other institutions.”

For Hoffner, having the 10th best campus food is well deserved, too.

“We offer more locations and more operating hours than many of our peer institutions,” Hoffner wrote. “Overall, I think the quality of our food is outstanding.”

Hoffner indicated that once the issues with dining on the South 40 are fixed next year, the food on campus will be even better.

“We know that we are limited on dining space and options this year, but we are confident that next year we will have the best university dining facilities in the country,” he wrote.

Besides the food services, the University benefits from other attributes that Hoffner believes may have helped the institution in its rankings. The Washington University Police Department (WUPD), for one, is a great asset to the University, according to Hoffner.

“WUSTL’s Police Department is headed by one of the most widely respected University Police Chiefs in the country, Don Strom,” he wrote.

Hoffner also complimented WUPD’s off-campus involvement, coordination with the city police and its positive interactions with the student body.

Hoffner said, overall, that the people who work at the University make all the difference.

“We have an incredibly dedicated staff in Student Affairs, Campus Life, Residential Life, Student Financial Services, Student Health & Wellness and many other departments,” Hoffner wrote. “They truly care about students, and they are totally committed to making WUSTL among the very best in the country.”

Carroll pointed out, however, that the reasons behind the administration’s decisions are not merely for the sake of gaining high rankings.

“It is always nice, of course, to be considered by others who provide input such rankings. But the rankings don’t motivate our decisions—our students do,” Carroll said.

An auction to benefit Mr. Wash. U. will be held on Thursday at Ursa’s Fireside at 7 p.m. to sell the photos depicting campus life, which were replaced by photographs of food over winter break.

Michael Offerman, one of four freshman candidates competing for the title of Mr. Wash. U., came up with the idea for the auction.

“The plans for the new Wohl [Center] aren’t complete, but it is unlikely that those photos would be a part of it. We didn’t have any use for them so when the requests came in from Mr. Wash. U. we thought it would be a worthwhile project,” Assistant to the Director of Operations Paul Schimmele said of the auction.

Each candidate must raise a certain amount of money to benefit City Faces, a local initiative that works with inner-city St. Louis children to provide a positive outlet through art. In 2008, Mr. Wash. U. raised about $30,000 for the charity.

Last year, the most money raised by a candidate was $2,000. Offerman hopes to top that goal and said that he is leading in fundraising efforts among the candidates.

Tyler Bertroche, a sophomore who is also a candidate for Mr. Wash. U., has a special relationship with one of the photos. He saw  the infamous “singing girls” picture in Bear’s Den with his high school soccer team and remained an admirer of it as a student here.

While with two of his friends, sophomores David Klein and Bryson Tombridge, Bertroche said he remembers thinking, “That picture is ridiculous and I think we could do them one better.”

After taking a spoof clutching an electric razor and a hairdryer, the friends made a $64 poster-sized copy and pasted it over the original picture.  According to Bertroche, one manager even said they would put it under glass. It was up for seven days before disappearing.

Shortly afterward, a Facebook group called “I HATE that picture in Bear’s Den” came into existence. The group has slightly more than 200 members.

The infamous picture was taken as a publicity shot for a University play, “Big Love,” in 2003. “If I ever met [the girls], I would tell them that I admire their work and that each person did a great job of creating the emotions that we tried to replicate,” Bertroche said.

The starting bid for the original picture will be $50. Offerman said he hopes that bids for the piece will top $300.  So why should students buy it?

“To own a piece of Wash. U. history. To remember their freshman and sophomore years on the South 40 forever and have it immortalized in an image of campus life,” Offerman said.

The auction is being held in conjunction with Mr. Wash. U.’s annual date auction, which aligns with Valentine’s Day to match up students with candidates. Candidates will “sell” for anywhere from $15 to $45.

Jeanette Wong, a junior who is involved with internal fundraising, said, “It’s a fun way to get everyone involved. There’s not only the benefit of giving money to a charity, but also getting to go out on a date with a friend or a crush.”

The photos maintain a cult status on campus, and many are sad to see them go.

“[The new photos] don’t really capture the essence of Wash. U. student life quite as well as the Thurtene and cheerleadering picture,” Offerman said. “Hopefully for the new Wohl Center, they will bring back some more fine pieces of art.”

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations and Director of Dining Services Steve Hoffner said that the photos gave the dining halls a familiar feeling.

“This is a different dining establishment than if you went off campus. It customized the space,” Hoffner said.

But Bertroche said he is proud of where the photos are going.

“I think it’s one of the greatest ideas for fundraising a candidate’s ever had,” he said. “It’s sad to see the original go because it means so much to our generation of Bear’s Den eaters. It truly represents the eating experience that is the Bear’s Den.”

A picture for the play “Big Love” that used to hang in Bear’s Den is being sold at an auction by Mr. Wash. U. to raise money for City Faces on Thursday at Ursa’s Fireside. (Courtesy of Alex Garcini)

Sophomores Tyler Bertroche, David Klein and Bryson Tombridge spoof the “Big Love” picture. (Courtesy of David Klein)

The property, a highly visible building on the northwestern corner of Eastgate Avenue and Delmar Boulevard, now joins the ranks of a number of other properties in the Loop owned by the University, most of which were purchased within the past few years.

According to Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations Steve Hoffner, the building’s exact purpose has yet to be determined.

“We bought it because it’s adjacent to the other buildings Washington University owns in the Loop,” Hoffner said.

The adjacent buildings, Hoffner explains, are currently being used as graduate housing, and owning this new property “will provide greater flexibility in planning in the future.”

The University’s focus on bolstering its presence in the Loop stems from the street’s position as “an important relaxation and entertainment place to Wash. U. students,” Hoffner said.

“We place great importance on it and want to make sure it remains this vibrant,” he said. “[To achieve this], we work closely with the community.”

The University provides patrols to neighborhood security, makes annual contributions to University City police services and hires a community liaison who regularly attends the meetings held by the Loop Special Business District, a union formed by the business owners in the Loop.

Joe Edwards, a participant in this union as owner of Blueberry Hill and the Pageant Theatre—two of the most popular venues on the Loop—is enthusiastic about the community’s collaboration with the University.

“Washington University is a great community partner,” he said. “It has a great view for the future of the area and has made a wonderful statement of dedication to the community by purchasing properties for its North Campus in the Skinker-Delmar-MetroLink triangle. [The purchases by the University] helps stabilize the area by turning unused properties into well-kept ones, and [our partnership with the University] helps build up a wonderful community where everybody feels welcome.”

Edwards believes that this partnership was a significant contributor to the recent naming of the Delmar Loop as one of the 10 great streets in America by the American Planning Association in 2007.

“[The selection was] one of the most exciting outcomes of our partnership [with the University]. It attracted a lot of tourists and travel writers in the past year; articles about Delmar appeared in publications like Time and The New York Times,” Edwards said. “It was an important recognition.”

According to Hoffner, the University has yet to receive any negative feedback in response to its strong presence on the Loop.

Rachel Leibovich, an employee at Coldstone Creamery on the Loop, says that she has only had positive experiences with University students.

“They visit frequently; we even have a couple of regulars. They’re great. We have also fundraised for students in the past,” Leibovich said. “We definitely welcome [the] Wash. U. presence.”

Univerity students are also ready to offer their presence on the Loop.

University alum and first year graduate student Ceyla Erhan said the Loop has always been an important place for her to relax and have fun.

“I come from a very big, vibrant city, so I value having a place like the Loop close by,” Erhan said. “I go there three or four times a week just to hang out. I also pass by it everyday to get to school this year since I live two streets down the Loop.”

Safety is a top priority for someone like Erhan.

“I walk or ride my bike home every day, so it’s important that the Loop is safe. I definitely see a lot of Wash. U. patrols around, perhaps slightly more so in the past few years than this year, but I think it’s safe,” she said.

“You could almost say Bear’s Den is my ‘den,’” Fox said while eating lunch with a few friends in the popular eatery.

The dining hall’s popularity may soon see a decline because, as of this past summer, Bear’s Den has implemented price increases on its food in an attempt to account for a recent surge in national food costs.

Hoping to help students through this nationwide shift, the University has raised the total number of possible meal points for all undergraduate meal plans by five percent. This move enabled students to purchase more points for their plans, allowing them to purchase as much food as they would have prior to the change.

“We’re not trying to make any more money for the University,” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations Steve Hoffner said. “We’re just trying to cover some of the price increases that have been passed to us.”

Although she may have to pay more, junior Kate L. Gallagher says her dining experience at Bear’s Den has not changed.

“I come to Bear’s Den almost everyday, mostly for breakfast and occasionally for lunch,” Gallagher said. “For me, I have to eat, so there’s not much I can do about it. The economy is not in my control.”

Sophomore John Menze echoed Gallagher’s sentiment. Though he visits Bear’s Den once or twice a day, Menze says he has yet to “even notice an incredible difference.”

The University is one of a number of institutions across the country that has been forced to adapt to the ever-changing state of the economy.

According to a recent brief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Consumer Price Index is expected to increase by about five to six percent in 2008. As a result, the schools have had to charge their consumers more in order to make up for these higher costs.

“Food prices in general have skyrocketed over the summer,” Hoffner said. “Weather problems, high oil prices result in much higher gasoline prices for shipping the food and increased worldwide demand for commodities.”

Hoffner explained that the increase in meal points, however, was an attempt “to try to soften the impact on students.”

“The five percent increase in points was an across-the-board adjustment giving students more dining service points than they would have had,” he said.

As a consequence of the five percent point increase, students pay five percent more when they initially purchase their plan at the start of the school year.

For example, the Square Meal Deal plan had 2,920 points. It now has 3,066, an increase of 146 points.

Following this academic year, the number of meal plan points is expected to stay the same. Bear’s Den will be replaced by a new set of dining facilities currently under construction as part of a new student center on the South 40.