VOL. 23, NO. 17	MARCH 6, 1998

Gisela Brea, left, and Sidney Boquiren fill out surveys in the Office of Planning and Institutional Research, in 308 Low. Record Photo by Amy Callahan.

ith more than 14,000 square feet of dining space to fill in Alfred Lerner Hall, managers in Dining Services want to make sure they offer what students will eat.

  To that end, a campus-wide survey has just been completed, encompassing more than 150 students and 184 other members of the Columbia community.

  “We’ve asked how many times do they eat on campus?” explained Fred Howe, director of dining services. “Do they want to sit down, do they want self service? Do they want a juice bar, pizza, ice cream?”

  In Lerner, the dining venues will be spread over four floors.

  Howe said surveying the campus community has already proved instrumental in improving dining services. He cited the successful “OpFest,” which was conceived and run in 1995 by the Office of Planning and Institutional Research. In that survey, Low Rotunda was transformed into something of a busy food court, with students invited to taste sample foods, rate them and offer their preferences in general about campus dining.

  “That survey supplied data that determined some changes now in place,” Howe explained. “Now, we’re looking at whether their tastes have changed. We’re looking at trends in eating habits.”

  Associate Provost Marian Pagano, whose office conducted the survey of students, said, “We pursued and attained a truly random sample that we are confident will reflect the dining preferences of the student population. With such high quality information, the planners can design and implement programs that we know will be welcomed by our students.”

  The students filled out survey forms in the Office of Planning and Institutional Research in 308 Low, and members of the community were sent forms in the mail.

  The results of the dining survey are expected by the end of the month.