The student-run Collis Governing Board criticized Dartmouth Dining Service's plan to change the menu at Collis Cafe in a letter last week to Director of Dining Services Pete Napolitano.
Last term, Napolitano suggested changing the menu at Collis to reflect the dining area's reputation as a meeting and gathering place and to make up for losses in sales.
Napolitano told The Dartmouth last term that suggested changes included an expansion of the bakery program and the gourmet coffee line and the addition of fresh squeezed juices.
After conducting a student survey over BlitzMail last term, the Collis governing board, an eight-member student board created to represent the interests of those who use Collis as a student center, released a letter criticizing the suggestions.
"Based on the student survey conducted last term, the Collis Governing Board strongly recommends that Dartmouth Dining Services reconsider any planned changes to the Collis Cafe," the letter states.
Chris Swift '98, a member of the governing board, said the letter was composed primarily because Napolitano had "not made any changes to his plans or started a dialogue with the students."
The board wanted Napolitano to hear students' voices, said Ruth Morgan '96, a board member.
DDS sponsored several "round table" discussions during Winter term, in order to give students a chance to voice their opinions about proposed changes in campus dining.
"Even though they've had the 'round table' discussions and have met with the Student Assembly, we didn't want a change to be made without the students," Morgan said.
Although Napolitano acknowledged that the decision to change the cafe stems from financial considerations, he said he is very interested in what students want.
"The Collis menu that currently exists has been in existence for over a decade," he said. "For us to continue serving a menu that is well over a decade in age to the students of the 1990s is silly.
"It's no wonder we are experiencing a decline in customer account," he added.
The governing board conducted a survey at the end of Winter term, asking students whether they would like the cafe to change its menu.
According to the results, 59.8 percent of those surveyed supported keeping the cafe the same while only 12.7 percent supported a bakery or coffeehouse proposal.
The governing board hoped last term's survey results would prompt a dialogue between its members and DDS, Swift said.
"We did not receive any response from Napolitano, and there was no change in his schedule," Swift said. "At the beginning of the week, Mr. Napolitano brought in a consultant to look at Collis to develop a plan to convert it into a bakery."
Napolitano said he was disappointed by the survey's methodology.
"I had expressed concern about the survey because the way the questions were asked left very little room except to criticize any kind of change," he said.
"I thought the survey was skewed in favor of making no changes," he said. "None of the true conceptual types of food service were reflected in the survey."
But Associate Director of Student Services Linda Kennedy said the survey found tremendous student support for the cafe .
Napolitano said the controversy springs from the governing board's incorrect assumptions about the state of the cafe.
"I do not think that any members of the Collis Governing Board have any level of understanding of the problems that exist in Collis today," he said. "Once people are made aware of the situation, it will become more clear that a change must occur."
Although the cafe will be completely revamped, it will be much more than a coffee shop, Napolitano said.
The current plans include fruit drinks and a fresh juice bar, Arabica premium-blended coffees, a frozen dessert section, a soup station and expanded bakery. The plans include space for light entrees, such as Calzones.
"That is far far away from a coffee shop," Napolitano said.
Napolitano said he was not surprised by the governing board's resistance.
"People are a little afraid of change by nature," he said. "Changes can be positive in nature but can also be a little frightening."
Napolitano said input from the governing board is very important to DDS.
