Elm St. Dining Hall Considers Renovations

Two wooden ballot boxes were stationed at the entrance of Elm Street dining hall next to a row of modern-style chairs and blueprints of three alternative arrangements for the dining space. Exonians heading in and out of the dining hall casted their ballots on the chair designs and hall renovations from April 9 to April 20.

Over the summer, as part of Dining Services’ renovation efforts, Director of Dining Services Melinda Leonard and Director of Facilities Management Mark Leighton recommended the replacement of dining hall chairs, as the current ones are worn out due to old age and use. The two decided to bring in an architectural design firm called Architectural Resources Cambridge (ARC) to develop possible new layouts for the dining hall.

Together, ARC, Dining Services and Facilities Management developed two different options for Elm Street’s interior layouts, both involving the breaking of long tables into smaller ones, a wider variety of seating types, such as lounge areas complete with cushioned seating, and tables of different heights. Leonard emphasized her desire to preserve form and functionality.

“Over the course of this year, Dining and Facilities have met with ARC to develop some options with the goal in creating a warmer, more inviting space, without sacrificing seating,” Leonard said. She emphasized her desire to create “more flexibility and functionality in how the dining spaces can be managed and cleaned.”

Principal MacFarlane and Chief Financial Officer David Hanson reviewed ARC’s proposals in early April. Hanson noted that aside from the change in arrangement and chairs, there would also be upgrades on “behind the scenes” equipment and systems. “We are planning to spend roughly $350,000 on all new seating and design,” he said. “This comes from facilities management’s operating budget and capital budget.”

After the meeting, Leonard set up the ballot system on April 9 to gather community feedback about the two types of chairs they liked best; she is currently in the process of reviewing the responses. “The chair that had the flexible back on it [with the red cushion], I believe it was the most popular choice for first chair,” Leonard said. “The tall chair with the higher back was the most popular choice for the second chair.”

Leonard also met with Student Council’s Executive Board to introduce the plans and chair samples. The Board held an all-council meeting to discuss the different options last month.

Lower and Co-secretary Ayush Noori described the overall reactions to the renovations as positive. Personally, he thinks Elm Street dining hall needs renovation because unlike “cozy” Wetherall Hall, it creates an atmosphere that’s “more factory like.” Noori also noted that the current seating arrangement may not encourage students unacquainted with one another to sit together.

Senior Wendi Yan, who conducted a capstone research project for her Anthropology class last term about seating arrangements in dining halls and Exonians’ socialization patterns, would agree. Yan and her group went about breaking up the long tables, making dining hall as different as possible. “There were students who were more comfortable with being in the smaller groups; it was easier for them to find small tables and have their own instead of awkwardly sitting at the edge of the longer ones,” she said.

Yan stressed the importance of diversity in seating arrangement at dining halls. “We have way too many long dorm tables, it’s hostile to more introverted people,” she said. “We found that students choose to not go to [the] dining hall because they feel it’s too much of an intimidating place. You’re seen by everyone else if you sit alone by yourself.”

Student reactions were not entirely positive, however. “One big concern was that at high traffic times, if mixing the seating would affect the seating capacity of Elm,” Noori said.

Other concerns revolved around the practicality of the new chair designs. Senior Claire Melvin, while acknowledging that the higher chairs, similar to those in Grill, would be more appropriate for students who want to do work or eat less food, was worried that they would cause inconveniences. “Can the side with higher seating accommodate faculty children? Will this make it more difficult to clean the dining hall?” she asked.

Some Exonians found the taller chairs impractical. Senior Joy Zhang, for instance, shared that she would like to be able to touch the ground with her feet while eating. “I don’t feel the need to swing my feet around. The seats are also less deep—I can’t really fit myself snugly in it,” she said.

Meanwhile, upper Jordan Davidson recognized that the cushioned chairs and the lounge area would be “ruined easily” with students spilling food and drinks. Upper Niko Amber shared a similar sentiment, adding that the high chairs would become less serviceable over time as they become more prone to wobbling.

Upper Luca Cantone, in a similar vein, criticized the chairs for their “subpar rigidity and comfort,” adding, “I don’t see the level-up in replacing good wooden chairs with self-consciously ‘modern’ looking composite chairs, which are less comfortable.”

The “modern” look of the new chairs also worries students and adults who want to preserve the architectural integrity of Elm Street. “Changing [the chair] is like renovating the architecture, something a third party has no business doing,” senior Harry Saunders said.

Faculty emeritus Jim Samiljan, who has been at the Academy since 1967 and still regularly uses Elm Street Dining Hall, also commented,“There aren’t any problems with the current [chairs’] design; we should stay loyal to the architecture of the building, which has been here since 1973.”

On the other hand, while he does not see where the impetus for change comes from, Mathematics Instructor Joseph Wolfson appreciates the concept of a creating a more welcoming dining space. “I really like Grill and its seating arrangement because it’s more casual,” Wolfson said. He did question, however, whether this more casual style would work well for Elm Street, a high-volume lunch and dinner space, voicing concerns about the smaller tables.

“I used to live in Cilley Hall, and the boys there had a table to themselves. Some dorms still do now,” Wolfson said. “It’s a trade-off, because they won’t be able to do that anymore with the small tables. Or they might just move the tables, unless Facilities bolts them to the floor.”

On a more positive note, upper Bryce Morales shared that he did like the idea of making Elm Street more colorful with the addition of the new chairs. “Some of the current ones have broken legs, or the bars connecting them are not quite right,” Morales said. “I think the new designs, especially the black one with the high back, are more comfortable.”

Noori shared this sentiment. “I think that breaking it up and having different seating options would make Elm more like home,” he said. “That’s what boarding school it supposed to be, right? It’s our home for eight months.”