Dormitory Grill Operations Across Campus Investigated
Students hang out in Soule Hall’s Dorm Grill room a few minutes after check-in. Some huddle around the TV sipping soda and watching the latest Celtic’s playoff game, while others browse through the snacks in the dorm grill pantry. Chips, ramen and sweets are abundant, but granola bars have been sold out for a week. The dorm grill managers keep watch over their customers, jotting down a record of each transaction.
As the normal delivery time nears, more students crowd into the small room and barrage the grill manager with the same question: “Where’s the pizza?” Some have been waiting for hours in the corner, chowing through snacks as they socialize. The grill manager struggles to quell the discontent as he waits for the phone call from Front Row Pizzeria. Moments later, the grill manager returns with a pile of boxes full of pies. Common courtesy takes a back seat as dorm mates vie for slices. The preps are left on the outskirts as the upperclassmen take their share. The grill manager smiles as the profits add up on his spreadsheet.
Dormitory grills are a staple in most dorms, serving as businesses from which students can purchase snacks and hot foods such as pizza. Most dorm grills are run by a small group of students from their personal rooms, though some are run through dedicated official dorm facilities such as dorm basements. Such a business comes with regulations, as outlined in the E-book, and in many cases, The Exonian found that a large portion of dorm grills have had or continue to have problems following such rules. Despite these problems, dorm grills mostly play a positive role in the dorm lives of grill managers and students.
According to the E-book, “Grill managers are responsible for the entire operation of the grill, including maintaining accurate financial records. Grill franchises are not to be sold or ‘bequeathed.’” The E-book also states that the Dean’s Office should be notified each year a dorm grill is in operation and that dorm grills should not sell hot foods—a rule that many violate.
“Many dormitory grills give back to the dorm community by contributing to a dorm function or by hosting a cookout. In addition, they bring the dorm community together during the 10–10:30 period of time.”
The advisor’s handbook further elaborates, stipulating that “Grills may not be operated at any time except during those designated operating hours [determined by the dorm faculty].” The handbook says dorm grills are meant to be a service to the community and should share some of the profit if it “seems appropriate.”
Dean of Students Melissa Mischke added to this, saying, “It’s supposed to be a service to the dormitory not for somebody’s profit so there should be some sort of rent that has to be paid back to the dorm,” she said. “There are a couple of things: you’re, first of all, feeding hungry teenagers, it’s part of the social of the evening and if the dorm grill is successful, they can either help the dorm purchase something or give to the dorm community.”
Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove agreed with Mischke. “My understanding from most dormitory heads is that dorm grills are a positive addition to dorm communities,” he said. “Many dormitory grills give back to the dorm community by contributing to a dorm function or by hosting a cookout. In addition, they bring the dorm community together during the 10–10:30 period of time.”
Senior Sara Michaels, former Amen grill manager, was unaware of the reporting procedures outlined by the E-book. Nevertheless, she believed her operation had caused no harm. “It wasn’t super fancy–we only had a few snacks in our inventory. I wasn’t intentionally breaking any rules” she said. However, her experience turned sour when an unnamed thief stole all of Michaels’ earnings. “I couldn’t believe that somebody from my dorm, or anybody for that matter, took all my hard earned cash. I couldn’t break even because of that,” she said. “Maybe then would have been a good time to have made the dorm grill ‘official’ so events like this were accounted for.”
Mischke felt similarly, saying that leaders in the dorms such as faculty or proctors should be involved in such cases. “The managers of dorm grill take on their own responsibility so it’s important that if something is not correct or there is a misunderstanding, adults are involved, even if it’s a mediation between two warring factions,” Mischke said. “If product or money is taken or a misunderstanding on how much money is owed, an adult should be involved, particularly the dorm head.”
Lower Soule Hall grill manager Andrew Loevinger has had complete autonomy in running his grill. He has not had to report to the faculty, though they are aware of the grill’s existence. “Having the freedom to run it completely by myself has been, in my opinion, the best method because it’s like taking on the responsibilities of an actual business,” he said. “I’ve gone to Walgreens every other week, I’ve sacrificed my work time and I’ve responsibly kept tabs on everyone and made sure that I have a secure lock system. I’ve been dutifully rewarded for my hard work.” To date, Loevinger has made $3000 in total revenue, approximately $1500 of which was profit. Referencing his nightly pizza sales, which explicitly violate the E-book, Loevinger said, “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t like it. I provide a service and have even contributed back to the dorm by subsidizing dorm gear costs.” Ewald Hall ran a dorm grill last year using a tab system. According to Jon Lee, the former grill manager there, many people accumulated debt. “Bartkovich and proctors disallowed tabs,” he said. “They didn't like people owing people money so they shut it down.” But Ewald dorm head Kevin Bartkovich denied the existence of a dorm grill. “We have not had dorm grill during my time in Ewald,” he said in an email to The Exonian.
Wentworth Hall’s dorm grill, however, works differently from those in other dorms. Instead of a single grill, there are two separate businesses: one sells drinks and snacks, while the other sells pizza. The former is run by seniors Liam Oakley and Bennett Levy. “Wentworth Dorm Grill is a for-profit business that sells assorted snacks and drinks at night in the basement,” Oakley said.
“We stock the place with about $800 worth of food and drink to start the year,” Levy explained. “This is the buy-in amount for us both to split. When people come to us they order what they want and we enter it into a spreadsheet that holds all the names and tab amounts.” When asked about competition, Oakley commented, “We co-exist fairly peacefully. People tend to grab a slice and then come to us for a drink or candybar.”
The Wentworth dorm grill contradicts the E-book in that it “bequeaths” its franchises. Oakley explained that the Wentworth dorm grill was a tradition of sorts. “Dorm grill's interior used to be decorated by decades worth of past wentworth brothers’ […] sayings and drawings,” he said. Every year the two “proprietors” of dorm grill pass down the role to two or three upcoming seniors. “This role was bestowed upon Bennett and me. Wentworth dorm grill is a sacred dorm tradition and is highly respected within the community. It is a privilege, not a right.”
Mischke, who also serves as a Wentworth dorm faculty, admitted that she herself was uncertain if dorm grills were following the outlined by the E-book. “I’m not sure if this is happening with dorms; we’ve had this conversation with dorm heads,” she said. However, she is optimistic that the Exonians will run them in good spirit. “I’m hoping dorm grills don’t run on such a profit, that there are inexpensive choices that everyone can have,” she said. “I just want there to be good practices and care around doing it.”
Cosgrove, another Wentworth dorm faculty, had also not heard of these issues. “Dormitory heads have talked about dormitory grills and ultimately are responsible for overseeing them if they choose to allow them in their dorm,” he said. “The rules that are in place have worked well, so I have no intention of policy changes around dorm grills.”
The deans’ hopes have been realized in many cases, as most dorm grills work to contribute positively to the community. Like Loevinger, lower Bancroft Grill manager Chandler Jean-Jacques shares some of her profits with the dorm. “Twenty percent of the profit will go towards the dorm. I don't communicate that often with dorm faculty. I only go to them to unlock the closet,” she said. Moreover, Jean-Jacques has not experienced any theft which she credits to her reverse tab and low pricing system.
The Webster Hall Grill works very similarly to the one in Bancroft. Webster Dorm Head Giorgio Secondi takes 25 percent of the profits, though these funds go towards the dorm. “Other than that it’s pretty much up to us,” senior and Webster Hall co-grill manager Marichi Gupta said. “We make the pricing plan and what items to include in our dorm grill and other things like that.”
Senior Graham Rutledge, who runs the pizza grill in Wentworth with senior Joonho Jo also said they give back to the dorm. “Both of us are contributing a sizeable amount of our profits back to the dorm for events,” he said. Overall, they have donated about $200 to the dorm.
Upper and Cilley grill manager Taylor Walshe also gives back. The Cilley grill has payed for Cilley’s Super Bowl party. “I don't think the faculty need to be that involved because part of the responsibilities of the managers is to make things run smoothly,” he said. “When [our customers] get really high tabs we do constantly warn them but obviously people have to wait until the end of the term so that their parents pay it off when they pick them up.”
Secondi also felt that dorm grill operations should mostly be determined by those who run the business. “The dorm always comes first, dorm grill is here to serve the dorm and so if there is a dorm event going on or something like that they need to be closed,” said Secondi. “It’s their responsibility to start the funding, to collect debt and to make sure everything runs smoothly. I think it’s part of the learning, part of learning how to run a business.”