At the sixth Dartmouth Student Government meeting of the term on Oct. 26, the Senate discussed endorsing a proposal to create a committee of students, dining representatives and administrators to inform operational decisions and offer feedback to Dartmouth Dining Services. The proposal came from DSG’s own dining advisory council.
The proposed advisory council will include three students, two administrators — one of whom must be “student-facing” — and two Dartmouth Dining representatives who will provide “insight, ideas and recommendations to inform decision-making.” The advisory council will submit an annual report to the senior vice president of operations Josh Keniston containing “recommendations on major proposals and budget priorities” to inform “student and management priorities on dining,” according to the proposal.
Associate vice president of business and hospitality Joe Flueckiger said at the meeting that the dining program’s mission is to “serve students” and find strategies that “offer more services” in dining by “soliciting feedback” from students “on a regular basis.”
“We’re really thinking hard about how do we offer the right products at the right time, in the right place to meet the students,” Flueckiger said.
Within the past year, Dartmouth Dining has expanded services by installing 87 Fresh Zones — vending machines — in student spaces across campus. In addition, a new cafe will be built for 37 West Wheelock, an under-construction residential housing cluster.
General senator Ikenna Nwafor ’27 said he was concerned about the council’s effectiveness, since its recommendations will be “non-binding” according to the proposal.
“If it's just going to be a bunch of kids giving feedback to dining, people [already] do that — doesn’t mean they listen,” he said.
Flueckiger responded that Dartmouth Dining maintains “fiduciary responsibility” and must uphold “checks and balances” when operating. He hopes, however, that the advisory council will offer a way for dining to better “listen to students.”
“This document is intended to provide structure around what we’ve already been doing and add a few additional seats to the body,” Flueckiger said.
DSG deputy chief of staff Vani Miglani ’28 said she was concerned about how to ensure the proposed advisory council would be “receptive to feedback.” Flueckiger said the advisory council would meet “regularly” and hold “open meetings so students can come.”
“We will have a process, so we’ll have an agenda, [and] we'll have action items out of that meeting,” he added. “It may take some time to review research [on] the downstream effect of cost and pragmatic changes, but I expect there to be a lot of accountability.”
Student body president Sabik Jawad ’26 said that the National Association of Student Government Presidents asked him to sign a letter describing the effects of the federal government shutdown on student benefits.
DSG Senate meetings occur weekly on Sundays at 7 p.m. in Collis 101 and are open to all students.
