Hamilton’s dining halls have received much-deserved criticism in recent years. Whether it is the poor quality of food, or the limited options, many students end up dissatisfied. But the transition to Parkhurst Dining Service this summer brought new hope regarding campus dining. Yes, this hope (for most of us, myself included) was not based on any substantive analysis of Parkhurst’s past performance, but instead on hearsay from friends at other schools and a “grass is always greener” mindset that leads to changes in many aspects of society and our own lives. For all its faults, Bon Appetit provided a solid amount of options with an adequate level of quality. I never starved even when I quickly washed-down my bites.

However, new opportunities come with change. Think of how much worse our lives would have been if the Wright brothers never looked to the skies; or if Thomas Edison decided that candles were a perfectly fine source of light. Parkhurst did not need to reinvent the wheel to improve campus dining; there were many minute changes that would prove sufficient. And, so far, Parkhurst has made these changes.

Just yesterday, I had a dinner at Commons that featured a tender piece of Southern fried chicken and a few rich and bready calzones. I then capped my meal off with a creamy vanilla milkshake, within which I mixed some chocolate chips and Oreos. In terms of pure quality and diversity of options, this meal marked a Commons revolution of a kind unforeseen since I came to Hamilton.

And that’s not all. As a simultaneous fan of breakfast foods and an opponent of eating during traditional breakfast time, the waffle makers in both McEwan and Commons have been life-changing. Now, most weekdays I can leave my 10 a.m. class satisfied that I will be able to make the short walk to McEwan to make a toasty waffle along with some fluffy eggs with no hindrance. Solid carbs and protein at a reasonable hour of the morning, what more could anyone ask for?

Dining has not been perfect by any means. The array of donuts and pastries that Bon Appetit’s Commons featured every weekend was enticing enough to get me out of bed before noon. This is not to say that the desserts have been poor by any means — I had a giant M&M cookie last week that tasted shockingly good and the aforementioned milkshake was a far cry better than anything Commons used to offer — but I do miss the breakfast options. The home line is also missing the surprisingly well-made pancakes and french toast of old. Instead, it now features vegan sausage and way-too-early lunch options. Granted, my dining preferences differ from others — I am sure many want to eat quiche or steamed vegetables at 10:30 in the morning.

I posit that the quality of an institution’s dining mirrors its overall quality (my experience with a soggy slice of pizza in the Russell Senate Office Building’s cafeteria adds credence to this theory). Without good dining, the work students and professionals can produce suffers in both efficiency and value. Who wants to read, write or study when they just had a bluish-looking hotdog after waiting in a crowded line? And who wants to spend all their hard-earned money eating out? (Notwithstanding the desire to eat at Lafa every night).

However, everyone has different dietary preferences and levels of pickiness that range from wanting to eat plain pasta and grilled chicken at every meal to accommodating Bill Gates’s dream that we all eat bugs. This fact means that any dining service has an almost impossible task of accommodating a wide range of interests determined by personal preferences, dietary restrictions and religious customs. Therefore, the best one can hope for are nutritious options that accommodate as many people as possible. In this regard, Parkhurst is doing a job well done.