Pollock: Transformation

Everyone loves cafeterias. Right?

Probably not; most people don't think of the ubiquitous “cafeteria” as their first choice dining locale. According to pretty much anything produced by Disney channel, cafeterias mostly serve as battlegrounds for food fights. Despite the negative stereotype, many colleges offer tasty dining hall options (free from spaghetti raining from the sky). Check out http://collegeprowler.com/rankings/campus-dining/ to see each college's food rating based on student surveys. Considering that students have to eat this food every day for (hopefully only) four years, they would benefit from learning a bit about details like this. In fact, my sister's ultimate criteria in deciding which college to attend was the college's food quality.

http://www.andyheckathorne.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_0135-950x709.jpg

Penn State's dining halls earned a respectable A- from students. Among the many dining halls on campus, Pollock was rated the highest for the fall 2011 semester. This is good news since Pollock was redone completely over the summer, later debuting this fall. Pollock wasn't always this great.

To understand Pollock's history, we must first look at the Simmons and McElwain dining halls. If you ask for directions to either, people will aim a carefully-raised eyebrow at you. That's because McElwain was closed in the 2007-2008 school year, and Simmons closed last spring. This disappointed many people, especially those trying to stave off the dreaded “freshman fifteen." In its heyday, Simmons was the main healthy option dining hall for Penn State. However, because Penn State is a business as well as a university, both McElwain and Simmons were shut down to make room for bed space (more like hotel space if you've seen the Globe, which replaced the Simmons dining hall).

The old Pollock featured one line of food, cafeteria style, with a large seating area. It was popular among athletes, and was last remodeled in 1994. Stanley Latta, Assistant V.P. of Housing and Food Services and Residence Life, explained that because of it's layout, Pollock was “under-utilized by students," partly contributing to the need for renovation.

The downfall of these eateries meant good news for Pollock. To compensate for the loss, Pollock was completely redone, changing everything from the menus to the layout. Pollock even inherited some of Simmons' healthy options; the salad bar is extensive, with healthy entrees available as well. The healthy food even tastes good. Although, upon observing the employees, you can quickly see that the fruits and veggies come from pre-wrapped packages.

One of the cool walls in Pollock
-Taken by Sam Galambos

Aside from the menu fixes, Pollock was also remodeled. The color scheme works well, with artsy pictures on the walls to create an enjoyable eating atmosphere. However, many students feel that the actual layout could be improved upon. Places to grab food are plentiful, but they are inefficiently scattered around the dining hall. That means incoming freshmen will have to eat many meals before discovering certain sections of the commons. The seating, scattered like the food, often makes connecting with friends a challenge. On the other hand, Pollock can certainly handle much more traffic than before, meaning the renovations succeeded in this aspect, despite slightly more cramped areas.

The new Pollock commons, despite its humble beginnings, has shot up in popularity following a major remodel. Taking Simmons' old rank of highest rated dining commons in its debut semester, Pollock has gotten the job done from students' and administrators' perspectives. Hopefully, other dining options on campus will follow suit, creating similar atmospheres and healthy choices.

-Sam