Student Life Pavilion = Slowly Learning Patience

I want to walk you through my typical Tuesday here at USD. I’ll start by telling you that I don’t even get to campus until around 3:30 p.m., if I’m lucky. I work between 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Once I get home I have barely enough time to shower and change my clothes before I have to turn right around and head to USD for the usual half-hour drive around campus to find parking.

I head into Biblical Studies at 4 p.m. Once I get out at 5:20 my day starts to get interesting. Since I have another class 6 p.m., I normally walk the short distance from Serra to Aromas, grab myself a delicious parfait, maybe a muffin, and enjoy the 40 minute break in between my classes.

I can’t do this anymore, at least on Fridays. Now, when I get out of class I have to haul my heavy book-bag down to the SLP in order to feed myself because Aromas, La Paloma and Bert’s all close by 4 p.m. I have no choice but to brave the chaos otherwise known as Pavilion dining.

When I walk into the Pav, the first challenge I face is deciding what I want to eat. Immediately after that I have to figure out which line leads to that area. After using the GPS on my phone, I can generally snake my way through the crowds of people and start standing near the place where I’d like to order my food. As I stand in line for Chinese food, I look up at the unnecessarily extravagant plasma-screen menu and decide that I’m in the mood for Mongolian beef and orange chicken, but when I arrive at the front of the line and tell this to the server I am informed that those options, despite being listed on the aforementioned menu, are not available. I then have to decide to either settle for food I never wanted in the first place or to trudge through the hordes of hungry students and find another line in which to wait. I look at my watch; I have been waiting in line for 10 minutes.  I’m looking forward to the pub everyone’s been talking about, because I usually need a drink by the time I’m done dealing with all this. 

After settling on my entrée, I find a place to sit down and eat. This is easier than you would think, since the amount of food I was given after my 10 minute wait amounts to about three bites.  

Because dinner at the SLP is all you can eat, the policy is to only serve measly amounts of food so that you can go through the line multiple times, therefore adding to the congestion already in existence.

My final predicament involves whether to fill my growling stomach or get to class on time. I have to choose, too, because they do not offer food to go during dinner hours and I won’t get out of class until well after they have ended. 

There are certainly some benefits to the SLP and I understand that it’s a good idea to house student organizations in a central location. But was it really necessary to shut down all the other great places on campus to eat? I don’t want to study in a gigantic building blaring with fluorescent lights while eating; I’d much rather find a place with great food and an intimate atmosphere. This is why, when given the option, you will find me at Urbane Café.