By Kaia Chau and Madeline Kessler, Staff Writers
At the start of the spring semester, Bryn Mawr’s Operations Planning Group, headed by administrators like President Kim Cassidy and Dean Jennifer Walters, proposed resuming indoor dining in supposedly well-ventilated spaces such as the Campus Center, the Great Hall, Park Science Center atriums, and the Erdman and New Dorm Dining Halls. On February 16, student dining hall managers emailed the student workers informing them of the college’s plan. This did not go over well with full-time staff and student workers in the dining halls, or the student body as a whole.
One staff member at New Dorm expressed dire concern over the potential reopening. “Students can’t and won’t follow the 14-day quarantine rules now, so they won’t in the dining halls. Full-time staff have to put [our] families and ourselves in jeopardy every day we come in here to feed [students]. They will use the dining hall as a social gathering place instead of just coming to eat and go.” The staff member felt apprehensive and angry, already finding the current situation already somewhat risky. Many student workers have noted that full-time staff’s concerns were neglected when the initial news broke about the potential for indoor dining.
“The full-time staff are already risking their health and lives to feed us and work with us, and I have seen them add more and more protective gear as COVID-19 gets worse and worse. They are also not receiving any type of hazard pay and their raises have been cut for this year. Their lives are much more important than our ability to eat indoors,” wrote a New Dorm student supervisor in a survey sent out to student workers. The student supervisor called attention to how workers have no choice “about whether being around indoor dining is something they feel comfortable with, since most student workers are on work-study and do not have the financial ability to quit their jobs for the semester.”
Many student workers also noted that they felt unsafe sanitizing areas that unmasked students would occupy—especially given that a majority of the Bryn Mawr community is not vaccinated. “Allowing patrons to remove their masks in the dining hall to eat would force people [who are] waiting in line, as well as workers, to be exposed to unmasked individuals—regardless of whether they chose to eat in the dining hall themselves. No one would be able to opt out of this experience,” said an Erdman student supervisor. “This is an especially significant concern for workers and community members who are considered high-risk for COVID-19.”
Of the 43 students who participated in the survey, 32 responded that they would not be comfortable working in the dining hall if indoor dining resumed and 11 said they might be comfortable. No respondents said they would feel completely comfortable.
The Bryn Mawr student body, in support of dining staff’s concerns, posted on their personal Instagram accounts calling for students to email the Operations Planning Group with their worries.Though the administration responded by saying that they would not go through with opening up cafeterias for indoor dining, students are still allowed to eat inside common rooms, the Great Hall, the Campus Center, and Park Library. For many students, this induces anxiety about increased rates of COVID-19 transmission within the community.
The Operations Planning Group stated that they “will continue to monitor and adjust to conditions. We welcome input from the community and always take it into consideration. The best way to contact the group is through the online safety concern form.”
Image credit: Bryn Mawr College
