Barrett dining hall through diverse selection of food, communal tables and casual dress creates an inclusive dining experience for students. When you walk into the dining hall for your first time as a college student, it seems a bit like a zoo. With people all over the place, running to grab the last piece of pizza; we all have a different view on our dining hall. When I walk in the first thing I see are patrons eating. Some people are by themselves eating alone and on their cell phones, or some people by themselves are studying, waiting for the next class to start. Most people are in groups conversing with new people, trying to meet as many people as possible. All over the world, food is used to bring people together. Working in the restaurant industry for two years I’ve learned that the atmosphere of which you are eating in can enrich or worsen your experience.
The open floor plan of the dining hall creates easy access from all directions of Barrett, making it easy for students to get to the dining hall no matter where they are coming from. The open seating plan also makes is less awkward to sit by yourself when you’re grabbing a quick bowl of cereal before your 9am class. The area is spacious, and can hold a lot of students in different sections. The modern design is accentuated with this open floor plan. Barrett dining hall is definitely the nicest dining hall on campus with its updated features all over and the spacious, clean, modern look. I asked student Jordan Manny how he feels when he sits alone in the dining hall and he replied with, “I enjoy the open floor plan because it makes it easy to people watch and feel connected even if I am alone.”
The lighting in the dining room can express a different mood at different times of the day. In the morning, the fluorescent lights help keep students awake and shine down on the “walk-of-shamers”. But during the day, with the sunshine coming through the huge windows, creates a vibrant talkative atmosphere, even if there isn’t any music. The bright lighting also makes it easy to decipher what you’re about to consume when choosing your meal. The dining hall is a great place to study or do homework due to this lighting and keeps up with the modern décor throughout the dining hall.
Even though it is usually filled with people talking, the occasional piano player can brighten up the entire dining hall with the tremendous skills of his fingers. The best time to eat a meal in the dining hall is during the middle of the day, when people are more awake and busy, the lighting is shining bright and the musician playing the piano is creating upbeat tunes to enjoy your meal to. Lighting has one of the greatest effects on the atmosphere of the restaurant, dim lights in a restaurant create a personal, more romantic feel while you’re eating. Typically, the more expensive the restaurant, the more dim the lights.
The food in Barrett is also quite delicious compared to the other dining halls. The goal of the menu is to provide something for everyone. Instead of food lying out & ready for you to grab, they have chefs waiting for you to tell them exactly what you want. The unlimited cereal and drinks compliments the omelets man who makes made-to-order omelets. The breakfast selection doesn’t end there, with the crispy bacon and tender sausage links next to the freshly scrambled eggs makes a quick breakfast easy and yummy. The waffle and French toast station is good, but not as good as Barrett’s homemade tater tots. For lunch and dinner, there is a wide selection of Asian, Thai, American, Indian, Chinese, and Italian food. All these meals just aren’t complete without grabbing something from Rosie’s dessert tray, her gooey brownies and M&M flavored candy bars, the dessert is hard to say no to and makes it easy for the freshman 15 to happen to you. Patrons often intertwine cultural cuisines to get a universal taste of different ethnicities, as if there was a private buffet set up at the conveniently at your table.
This kind of music brings together all different kinds of people. Not only is the food at Barrett dining hall diverse, but also it caters to the very diverse Barrett community. The students who eat a Barrett all come from very different backgrounds and different races. The small liberal arts college within a huge party school campus creates an eccentric group that makes up about 3,700 students who have one thing in common; they’re smart. The dining hall brings together all these students and is a true reflection of what Barrett, the Honors College is about. Since the dining hall caters to everyone’s wants, it’s filled with people of all races enjoying food that they would be able to enjoy at home. The students in Barrett tend to be well rounded and the farthest thing from judgmental. This is the best part about Barrett, when you walk down to try to find a place to drink, no one is judging you, people are smiling and inviting.
Barrett is made to not isolate students in their room or library, but to have spaces where students can study in a social area. Spread around the learning community is an arrangement of private rooms where students may access at any time of the day to eat, study, or relax. The privacy allows students to eat in peace, perfect for the more shy personas, or to study in peace without the noise disturbance the dining hall presents. The larger private rooms are an excellent source for group studies, to collaborate ideas or to just unwind. The secluded rooms are accessible at any hour of the day or night, and also has no limit on reservations of rooms.
Unfortunately, the dining hall’s seating is uncomfortable- disrupting the enjoyment of the fine cuisine. The larger “Harry Potter” themed room is especially uncomfortable due to the un-cushioned wooden chairs, which aches the bum and back. The pain factor of the seating allows customers to eat and leave promptly, no one wants to be uncomfortable for a long amount of time.
The staff working in the Barrett dining hall, as opposed to the Hassayampa location, are much more personable and go out of their way to befriend patrons and create conversation. As soon as students get up, Gloria, who works for the Barrett dining hall immediately wipes down the table and smiles at everyone around her. She always calls everyone by the name sweetie or honey, which makes you feel instantly loved when you enter the dining hall. Any of the staff can recognize if a student is in Barrett or not just by their face. This sense of intimacy between employees and students strengthens as time spent in college progresses; people start calling each other on a first-name basis and familiarize different characters. The chefs are always complimenting people, often asking how one’s day is going, or what activities are in store for later that day. The atmosphere present in the dining hall is always positive and none of the workers are ever in a bad mood.
The Barrett dining hall is a great space which achieved it’s goal: to make a open area which provides for the needs of all students and caters to everyone. Barrett wants their dining hall to “encourage them to spend more time on campus studying, learning and living with fellow students, peer mentors, and Barrett faculty by offering an exceptional environment.” Barrett dining hall brings a retreat away from the chaos of college in the form or food, friendship, and love.