The Student Government Association announced extended hours for Shenkman Hall’s market and dining hall in an Instagram post Tuesday.
Shenkman’s dining hall will expand their weekday hours to operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, after serving students last year from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Shenkman Market will now be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends, after only operating on weekdays last year. SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald said he and SGA Vice President Ethan Lynne met with GW Dining officials throughout the summer to discuss concerns students raised with finding food late at night and before early classes.
“We want to make sure that when students go to bed, they’re fed, and when students wake up in the morning, they have food options right away,” Fitzgerald said. “So it’s about closing those gaps where we saw them.”
Fitzgerald said he focused on extending Shenkman’s breakfast and dinner hours after hearing from students that a 7:30 a.m. opening did not give people enough time to eat and arrive to morning classes on time and closing at 9 p.m. made it difficult for students with evening classes to find dinner. During the SGA election season in April, students said they wanted extended operating hours — a point Fitzgerald included in his campaign platform.
“People are already waking up early, they should be able to go to class with a meal in their stomach,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that is beyond a reasonable expectation that students have.”
Lynne said he and Fitzgerald began working to extend dining hours in May when they met with Campus Dining Administrator Dahnya Rogers and Associate Vice President of Business Services Seth Weinshel. Lynne said he presented officials with data from a “community-wide survey” he had administered to residents last academic year while he was serving as the Residence Hall Association president for Shenkman. He said in the survey students shared they wanted officials to open Shenkman Market — which is located on Shenkman’s first floor and offers packaged snacks, a coffee bar and baked goods — on the weekends.
“We held two meetings and then continued to email frequently to discuss the different hour extensions of what’s feasible,” Lynne said. “And then we were very happy that we were able to get it to this point, and we also are hopeful that we can extend it more down the line.”
SGA Executive Secretary of Dining Max Fagelman said securing weekend operations for Shenkman Market was one of his goals for the year when the SGA Senate confirmed him for the role in July. Fagelman said feedback from students he spoke to around campus showed “time and time again” the need for extended hours in Shenkman Market because the kitchen provides options like prepackaged salads and acai bowls to accommodate dietary restrictions that aren’t available at other dining locations on campus.
“I not only felt this would add better dining options on the weekend, but as someone with allergies, this location provides multiple safe options for myself and other students with dietary restrictions,” Fagelman said.
