By Judy Xie ‘23
Lunch has always been one of the busiest and most chaotic parts of St. Mark’s experience. That 35-minute block of the day had students racing down the stem-building stairs and pushing past one another in the hallways to get to lunch before the line grew too long. Everyone would hurry through the server and into the dining hall, filling up their plates and possibly engaging in some small talk along the way as well. Every day, we crammed hundreds of people into a space where we ate and caught up with our friends without worrying about social distancing or being able to hear their voices through a plexiglass safety barrier.
With the new introduction of a rampant and easily transmittable virus into all of our daily lives, the St. Mark's lunch block needed to be completely reimagined to allow us a safe return to campus this fall. It would be impossible for all students and faculty to eat in the dining hall while still following safety guidelines with our original lunch schedule. Now, lunchtime is instead split into three separate periods between 11:10 and 1:25, with time allocated in between for disinfection. Every day, Lunch B hosts the most amount of students by far because only students who have free blocks during the other lunch periods are assigned to them. Due to my schedule, I have Lunch A on Tuesdays and Fridays and Lunch B on Mondays and Thursdays.
Personally, I prefer Lunch A. The lines are nonexistent, the buzz of the dining halls is quiet enough to have conversations through the plexiglass dividers, and the atmosphere is much less hectic. Since there is a much smaller number of students assigned to Lunches A and C, I am able to see many more of my friends on days that I have Lunch B. It is quite loud in the dining halls during Lunch B, though, so conversation is minimal or less satisfying. Waiting in line for the second lunch is one experience that is very similar to past years. Especially with the added need to remain 6-feet apart under social distancing guidelines, the line always extends far down the hallway. I’m sure that many would agree with me in saying that long lines are always a pain and seem to move along even slower when you have a rumbling stomach. It does, however, offer a small semblance of normalcy during these times where all of our lives feel unfamiliar and chaotic. It’s funny how I now find myself looking at annoyances in my life with a feeling almost akin to fondness and nostalgia.
There are certainly some aspects of the COVID-friendly lunch schedule that I like, but also others that aren’t as favorable. Overall, I feel that it is the best option that we have at the moment since it allows us the ability to remain safe while still eating inside the dining hall and having a semi-normal lunch experience.