When people make the decision to spend their summer on campus for research or to play for local summer league teams, they often do not consider that many facilities the college offers, namely, the dining halls, are closed. I have now spent two consecutive summers here on Hamilton’s campus and as is said: absence makes the heart grow fonder. In the summer, the absence of Commons, McEwen, and the Howard Diner forces one to rely on their own cooking skills. Not that mine are too shabby, but it gets repetitive and tiring to not only physically make my food every time I am hungry, but also shell out the money to ensure that I am able to eat. So I will continue to be very grateful to the dining halls on campus and the ease with which they provide food to the community.

As much as I might appreciate it however, I still have some reservations. After three years on the Hill, I, along with many others, have begun to notice a pattern. If you lack a car, or if your personal schedule does not align with the schedule of the Jitney, you cannot really get off campus. Sure, you could walk, but who honestly has the time or the will to do that? Your options are now the dining halls or to order food, and I think it goes without saying that no one orders food with a conscious decision towards healthy options, especially when Papa Johns and China Sea make more than a pretty penny from hungry Hamilton students.

The meal situation on campus reveals a difference in quality that reflects more or less an inverse of demand. Breakfast, despite the thirty minute lines if you want any kind of egg that is not powdered, is not so bad. Both McEwen and Commons offer dependable options that are generally good. You have the choice of yogurt (when it is not sour cream), fruit, cereal, or hot options, including pre-made sandwiches.

But maybe this quality is more attainable in the mornings because getting breakfast seems to be an elective decision in our society and on Hamilton’s campus. Depending on what time a person’s day actually begins — whether it is morning practice, a 9 A.M., or needing to get up to finish homework that should have been done last night — they might or might not even want to eat. Reduced demand in the morning might just mean a higher quality dining experience.

Lunch can be suspect at times. It is a hit or miss at McEwen, which is limited in terms of diversity but prides itself on better content. For different people, it has different results. But the fact that McEwen is not open on the weekends or past lunch on Friday makes dark-siders a little more protective of their smoothie and juice bar and more reliable ice cream options.

The hours between the end of lunch and the beginning of dinner are where I find it most strange to eat. There is no hot food available, so options are already severely limited. Perhaps to the person who does not mind creating something small and on-the-go, a coffee cup repurposed full of vegetables and salad dressing or grabbing a piece of pizza to be eaten somewhere on Martin’s Way between point A and point B will do the trick. However, those looking for a bit more substantial lunch seem to be out-of-luck. And if you are a vegetarian, you are out of luck unless you like salads, but isn’t that a bit of a stereotype (and also severely limiting?) With that being said, there are nice spots like the Pub and special options like Diner Mac on Wednesdays that boost the on-campus lunch profile.

Dinner, on the other hand, is a mess. Varsity sports practice from 4 P.M. to 6 P.M., and club sports (in my experience) practice from 4:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M.. Add in potential club meetings — which, depending on the club, can meet from 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. — rehearsals, TA sessions, and a general need to get homework done, and there are very limited windows when each individual is available to get dinner.

Commons and McEwen close at 8 P.M.. If you are coming off of a two-hour practice followed by a TA session or club, your only option is whatever you can make yourself — which, whether for lack of environment or skill, limits most people on this campus to microwaveable mac and cheese or ramen — or go to the Diner. It goes without saying that the Diner is not the most healthy of options.

Some students here, me among them, joke that there is an evil conspiracy to shame the student body into wanting to eat healthy, but not offering them the options to do so (which is fair.) With as much propaganda that we are exposed to, whether through the school’s campaigns to raise health awareness or pride themselves on natural, local ingredients, all the way through ads online and news articles that talk about such things, the idea of “eating healthy” is inescapable.

And yet, everyone knows Diner Mac Wednesday, Curly Fry-Day, and the fact that you can get ice cream and milkshakes from there if you are willing to spend actual money. It is consistent, it is reliable, and it is a genuinely enjoyable time, and you know what you are going to get when you get through. You do not get short changed on beef tips and have to get back in line because portion sizes are policed. The point remains, though, that while this food is comforting and almost always accessible, it runs counter to the College’s supposed commitment to promoting healthy eating. So is the reality that we often cannot actually eat healthy while on this campus? What happens now?

If I am being honest, probably nothing. There are definitely channels that we as students could go through to try and get better quality, accessible, and health-conscious food, but the fact of the matter is that getting achieving this goal is likely to result in a lot of effort and minimal results.

What it boils down to is a matter of contracts and how much Hamilton is willing to pay Bon Appetit for an increased quality of food. Then again, if our tuition keeps increasing year after year, I know I would not mind seeing some better options arrive on my plate. For the time being, we will just have to keep eating.