Saturdays are by far my favorite day of the week. You don’t have school, you can sleep in a little bit and maybe nurse your hangover from your crazy Friday night. Although you probably should do some homework, you still have all of Sunday to catch up if needed. It’s a day to relax a little bit and hang out with friends. Unfortunately, my favorite day does have one major problem that arises every single week: the limited options provided to students for dining on campus.

On any given weekday on campus, I can eat at the Market Place (D-hall), Café 77 (Co-op), the E. Café in the Hillel House on campus, or the Sorority houses since I am a greek-affiliated upperclassmen. Each location offers a different meal for me that can fit any food craving I might have that day.

The Market Place is perfect for a sit down meal with friends and is central on campus. The sorority houses also are a great place to sit down and have a meal. Although they are farther from campus, the sorority houses offer a larger variety of food. Café 77 is perfect for a meal on the go in between classes or if I need a quick snack to hold me over until my next meal. Lastly, I can go to the Hillel House for an amazing smoothie and bagel if I want a nice brunch and have an extra hour in my day.

I love having such a large array of options to choose from on any given weekday, but unfortunately, this is not the case on Saturdays. On any given Saturday, Café 77 does not open until 7 p.m., the E Café is closed all day and there is no Sorority Dining either, which leaves the Market Place as my only option as a place to eat on campus.

Our Dining Hall offers great food that is convenient and healthy, but I do need more than one option for my weekends. I personally do not like fish, so when that is the main meal offered in the Market Place that day, I am stuck with pasta and salads if I don’t feel like grabbing a sandwich.

I do always have an option of eating off campus at one of the many amazing restaurants we have here in town, but eating out every week can be expensive when I already pay for a 15-swipe meal plan every week.

I understand that the Hillel house is closed on Saturday’s because of Shabbat (their day of rest), but why can’t the school allow Café 77 to be open all day? It would give another dining option for students and allow them to get snacks throughout the day if they are stuck in the library with work.

I realize it might be difficult for the school to find employees to work all day Saturday, but I think it would be worth the investment because I believe that Café 77 would receive a lot of business if it were open then.

Having more than one dining option open Saturday’s would be beneficial not only for students but also for the school. If given a larger variety of food to chose from, I think students will be more likely to purchase their meals on campus, putting money back into the school, instead of eating out in local restaurants. Dining Services should seriously consider this an option for next year when they are making decisions about on campus dining.