A staggering 2,700 students took part in last week's referendum to determine the fate of Dartmouth Dining Services, with an overwhelming majority voting to cut services rather than pay for a mandatory $800 per term meal plan.
Of the 2,690 respondents, 1,965 voted for "significant cutbacks in services," a response referendum author Case Dorkey '99 called a "student veto" of the $800 plan. For comparison, only 1,477 students voted in last month's Student Assembly presidential election.
"Two weeks ago today we met with [College Treasurer] Lyn Hutton to try to convince her that there were other options besides this $800 DBA," Dorkey said. "Two weeks later, we have overruled an administrative decision that many felt was a foregone conclusion."
Members of the Trustee Finance Committee will be meeting with Hutton and DDS officials throughout the week to determine which services will be cut. A few layoffs are expected.
Only 188 students voted for the outright elimination of DDS, and 455 indicated they wanted no services cut.
The referendum, organized by the Assembly, also asked students questions about which services they valued most. The survey results will be considered when administrators decide which services to eliminate.
Athletic events concessions, the Cafe North at the medical school, the Dartmouth Skiway cafe, the East Wheelock Cluster snack bar, Hanover Country Club snack bar, Lone Pine Tavern and Westside Buffet scored lowest in popularity with students.
The survey also asked students the amount they would be willing to pay for a mandatory, non-refundable meal plan. The most popular amount was $500, although more students indicated they would be willing to pay less. It is likely the College will mandate some amount of non-refundable spending for next year.
Many students indicated they would be willing to pay an additional $50 "option cost" each term, although the second most popular amount was $0.
The vast majority of students indicated that DDS is vital to Dartmouth, because it provides convenience, a central environment and a common element for the community.
Dorkey said students' preferences about specific eating establishments was highly correlated with the fiscal health of each area.
Westside Buffet was voted as the lowest priority, with 1,382 students indicating it as unimportant. Dorkey said the elimination of Westside would make Dartmouth the only college in the country with no all-you-can-eat dining facility. Dorkey is a member of the Assembly and the intern for DDS.
Almost 2,000 students placed Food Court above neutral in importance, and almost as many felt the same about Food Court's late-night hours. However, approximately 1,500 students said that Food Court breakfast was of less than neutral importance.
Although a majority of students rated the Collis Cafe as important, the weekend operating hours of Collis proved highly unpopular. Over 1,000 students rated this option with the lowest level of importance.
Only slightly more students gave the Lone Pine Tavern votes of high priority than those who indicated it was of low importance.
The Dartmouth Skiway Concessions and the Country Club both received an overwhelming number of votes labeling them not important, as did the snack bar in the East Wheelock Supercluster. All three of these locations were suggested multiple times as possible closings during the April 9 forum in which students gathered to protest the proposed $800 DBA.
Cafe North, located in the Medical School, also proved unpopular with students, receiving almost 2,000 votes of lowest importance. Homeplate and the Courtyard Cafe received overwhelming support, both garnering approximately 1,000 votes of highest priority.
Over 900 students indicated that concessions at sporting events is of the lowest level of importance to them.
The data from the survey indicated that Dartmouth students spend an average of $524.74 per term at DDS and another $216.93 with establishments other than DDS.
Dorkey said the Assembly members involved with the referendum will be meeting with Dining Services representatives Tucker Rossiter and Don Blume, Hutton and Associate Treasurer Win Johnson "to make sure everyone is on the same page," and on Tuesday DDS will come up with a finalized plan to be submitted to College billing for the Summer term.
Dorkey said in the process of putting together the referendum it was rewarding to see that "the whole premise that the students could be trusted to vote responsibly" is correct.
Dorkey acknowledged that the results of the referendum, while pleasing to many students, could have a negative affect on other members of the Dartmouth community.
"There most likely will be some people will lose their jobs," he said. "But I imagine that the extent will be much less than people thought."
