The long-awaited Kosher/Halal dining facility will make a partial debut following the Thanksgiving holiday before holding its grand opening next winter.
The new center, called the "The Pavilion," was originally slated to open at the start of Fall term but was twice delayed due to the College's construction schedule. The dining hall will offer dinner Sunday through Thursday and lunch Monday through Friday, but will feature restricted food options during its late fall "soft opening" hours.
The Pavilion will kick off operations despite a serious lack of manpower; student organizers asked for volunteers at a recent Student Assembly meeting. DDS has waived its six hour minimum work week requirement in hopes of recruiting students to work as little as a two hour weekly shift.
One surprise students will encounter in the food line is the appearance of paper plates, a temporary solution to the some of the difficulties in guaranteeing strict accordance with dietary restrictions.
"DDS is going out of their way to use fully recyclable plates," said Ariel Rubin '03, one of the students heavily involved in working on the project through DDS and Hillel, of ecological concerns. Rubin noted that ultimately organizers hope to use glass plates.
Assistant Director of Dining Services David Newlove noted that the Kosher portion of the kitchen will be the first of its kind in New Hampshire -- a state health inspector had to call the College with questions because he said he had no experience handling such matters.
Newlove described the process as "a learning curve for all of us."
Meals and a la carte items at the Pavilion will be color coded to denote such distinctions as non-dairy, non-meat, Kosher, Halal and vegetarian.
Since last spring, members of DDS, the Muslim Students Association and Hillel have held sporadic meetings with people who for health, spiritual or religious reasons hope to incorporate Shakhahar dietary requirements into the facility. Such persons include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and strict vegetarians.
This inclusion "was entirely something that we were very excited about," Rubin said, noting that committee members invited representatives of these groups to meetings.
DDS is presently looking into fully accomodating Shakhahar needs into the Pavilion. Rubin said one goal of the dining facility is to include options for all three groups at every meal.
Certain additional costs would come with including Shakhahar requirements; DDS would have to purchase additional sinks, dishwashers, and utensils, as well as fronting further food production expenses, according to Newlove.
While the Collis Center and Homeplate offer vegetarian dishes, Advisor to Asian and Asian American students Nora Yasumura explained that these facilities are not acceptable to students with stringent beliefs because DDS cannot guarantee that the cookware used for these items has never touched eggs, meat or cheese. For a select number of students, this complication prevents them from eating on campus.
A vegetarian burger cooked next to a hamburger can offend even those persons with less restrictive habits.
