Sometime a few weeks ago, Scene editor Hannah La Porte and Editor-in-Chief Sydney Tran decided to be “dumb stupid idiots” (according to a former Editor-in-Chief) and spend 24 hours in the Danforth University Center (DUC). By no small miracle, they lived to tell the tale. Here are those 24 hours. 

I know I’m only a first-year and it’s a little early for me to be complaining, but the Dining Dilemma, as I’m calling it, has already proven to be a real challenge for me. There are two main problems within the broader Dilemma: a lack of dining facilities open on the weekend and early closing times for the retail options open during the week.

Last August, The Princeton Review named WashU #2 in the nation for “2025 Best Campus Food,” up from #5 in 2024. The other five schools listed are the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (No. 1), University of Richmond (No. 3), Bowdoin College (No. 4), and Cornell University (No. 5).

I started my week by eating at the grill in Bauer Hall. With a growling stomach after a long dance class, the grill’s 20-minute wait time was almost too much to bear.

I spent an hour studying in four different spaces on campus in the hopes of comparing study environments to find what works best for me (and maybe for you, too).

As a high school senior touring colleges last spring, I distinctly remember walking into the DUC at Washington University in St. Louis and seeing colorful posters hanging from the ceiling: “No. 3 Best Campus Food, Princeton Review.” As someone who has managed food allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish for my entire life, I wondered how accurate this statement would be for me. 

Campus is alive in a way that I should’ve expected, but had no way to prepare myself for.

Walking into Washington University’s Danforth University Center last year meant one could always find a group of Black students—up to 15 at a time—crowded around the large octagonal table in the center of the dining area. Students would be chatting and laughing, either just stopping by or parked there for a few hours. This year, of course, the dining scene has changed.

Everyone knows that this semester has been a challenge. You don’t need another creative introduction to tell you that. But, hopefully, we have all found something that has made this semester just a little bit better. And that’s what we’re highlighting this week.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion celebrated its fifth anniversary, with a ceremony in Tisch Commons, concluding Washington University’s Day of Dialogue & Action Feb. 19.