Cost-Saving Experiments Planned To Minimize Rise in Board Rate As Result of Dining Hall Surveys

Polls taken in four House dining halls will help determine possible money-saving methods of serving food next term. For four days last week, students employed by Arthur D. Trottenberg '48, assistant dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, tabulated the amount of food students put on their trays.

"This is the first time the workings of the Department have been so thoroughly explored," commented Carle T. Tucker, director of the Dining Halls. The inquiry resulted largely from the Administration's desire to minimize any rise in board charges next year.

By the end of December, results of this survey will be fully tabulated and then analyzed. Recommendations based upon these findings will be utilized this spring to help reduce the potential $150,000 dining hall deficit.

Various money-saving experiments--based on preliminary indications--will be tested in University dining halls from Dec. 5 to 13. Buffet-style dining, in which each student serves himself, will "definitely" be tried, but other experiments "will depend upon the data we receive," said Trottenberg.

Checkers worked in Adams, Kirkland, Lowell, and Winthrop, noting both the amount of food students picked up and the quantities left over after the meal. However, Tucker observed that results of the survey may not be fully valid, since "students do not consume as much food as normal when they are being checked."

Some experiments which may be tried will not depend upon the current survey, but upon an analysis of wage costs and attendance figures. One money-saving proposal which has been suggested involves closing dining halls for part of the weekend; any decision in this direction will depend largely upon the number of students who do eat weekend meals.