A Return to Campus Memo on Feb. 18 confirmed that the West Dining Hall, commonly known as D1, will be open from Monday Feb 21st for lunch and dinner, with indoor and outdoor seating provided.

Even when the exact timings were yet to be revealed, students were thrilled about this change and what it meant about a gradual return to normalcy on campus.

Aaurshi Prasad, Class of 2025, who serves as Chair of the Student Government Dining Committee for the spring 2022 semester, mentioned in a social media post that “there will be a wide array of cuisines available ranging from the Mongolian Grill counter to a Salad Bar.” Different from the D1 opening during summer last year, this time students will have a variety of options, such as Sizzle, Greens, Saj and Bake, apart from the ones already on offer in the Campus East Dining Hall, also known as D2.

Hayoung Song, Class of 2023, Aarushi’s predecessor last semester who was mainly in charge of the logistics in D1 opening, further shed light on the long-awaited decision: “Back in August, like September-ish, you probably saw like D2 was very very crowded and congested … people [were] complaining about it on Facebook, and it was just taking a long time for people to get through. So then we recognized the need for D1, and D1 has always been a goal of ours to open for many years now.”

Biweekly meetings between Song, ADNH Compass Coordinator Santosh Shetty and Campus Spaces Manager Adam Kice ensued. The initial decision to open only two counters, the Mongolian counter and the Grill, was amended in favor of opening all counters with a larger variety of options in order to attract more students.

“[D1’s opening] kept getting delayed because it was hard for them to hire enough people, with the reduced workforce that has been coming into the country as well as with a lot of labor going to Expo,” Song added.

After D1 opened, students have been reacting strongly to its food and services, posting positive reviews on Room of Requirement and sharing good dining experiences with friends. Sophia Sui, Class of 2024, delights in the diverse food options, especially the Mongolian counter and salad bars: “It’s like a Marketplace-plus with meal swipes, I absolutely love it, I will visit very often. Hope they have breakfast soon.”

Another student, Colleen Mader, Class of 2024, echoed the sentiment, citing that the salad bar can provide students with more vegetable options instead of the same steamed veggies in D2 everyday. “Honestly I really like going to D1. I live in A2C, so it’s nice that it’s right there. And it’s also close to C2 and I feel like it’s really easy to go from class … I think it’s nice that there are just more spots to go to, it makes the campus feel more full,” she said.

When asked what she thinks should be improved in D1, Colleen mentioned that with only two cash registers open, the lines can be very long. She hoped new measures will be taken to change this situation soon.

In an interview, Prasad said that opening D1 helped divert the crowds in D2 and assisted with community building as the freshman community live mostly in Residential Colleges A1 and A2 — going to D1 is more convenient for them.

With regards to D1’s opening hours, she further confirmed: “The timing[s] of D1 right now are from 12 [p.m.] to 3 [p.m.] and 5 [p.m.] to 8 [p.m.], and D1 is not open for breakfast right now, so we were just talking about amending the times a little bit to make it 11:45 [a.m.], because you have one batch of classes that end at 11:40 [a.m.] … otherwise this is a big rush because in 20 minutes, people are just standing in line.” She also mentioned that she is also working to shift dinner opening hours to 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Moreover, Prasad suggested that breakfast and delivery at D1 are the next priorities for the Student Government Dining Committee.