Limited dining options for South Campus residents force students to venture out for food

Marlon Pitter
Connector Editor

Approximately 450 students reside in Sheehy and Concordia halls on South Campus. While some go home on weekends, others are left without much free will for food, leaving them hungry on weekends, students say.

Because Mill City Restaurant, Starbucks and Subway are closed, students say their only options are to have their River Hawk Dollars, also known as “points,” quickly deteriorate at the Hawk’s Nest on South Campus, or wait for a shuttle to transport them to University Dining Commons on East Campus.

Concordia resident Cendana Auger says she feels “cheated” for not being able to use her meal swipes at Mill City Restaurant on the weekends. Auger said she would rather not “waste valuable time” that she could be using studying or doing homework going to East to eat.

The lack of food options on South often leads to students seeking food from non-UML sources. Sydney Rebello says she often finds herself ordering pizza to remedy her dismal dining situation.

At this point, a month into the semester, Rebello has about 200 River Hawk Dollars and says she is “always concerned” about when she will run out of them.

Sophomore Evan McCarthy says he is down to about 60 River Hawk Dollars and that he is clinging to Starbucks and Taco Bell for survival. Meanwhile, sophomore Bryan Truong said he is down to about 50 points and they are “fading quickly.”

Unfortunately, going home on weekends is not easy for some South residents, and for some, they say it is not possible unless someone gives them a ride.

McCarthy lives in Malden, Mass. and says he would have to take two  MBTA trains and pay a total of $11.25 to go home.

Other students, like Mykolas Parker from Austerville, Mass. and Denisse Velez from Lawrence, Mass., do not have cars, requiring them to be picked up by a friend or family member if they want to eat off campus.

Still, residents say they like living on South.  Rebello  says she“loves South” but “hates weekends” due to the lack of food. She has a car, but to her, driving to Worcester is not a desirable option.

Students say they understand that Mill City Restaurant being closed on weekends may be attributed to the small student population of South Campus, but they are asking for more alternatives.

A possible solution, some students believe, would be to open Mill City Restaurant for brunch hours (UMass Lowell’s brunch/dinner hours are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.). McCarthy would be pleased with Mill City Restaurant being open for just one of two days on weekends.

Other proposed compromises include opening Subway on weekends or allowing students to use meal swipes in Hawk’s Nest on weekends. Juliana Chapin and Velez are on board with those ideas.

As it stands, though, students say they will have to do what they can to make it through this semester and hope that things change for the better next year.

“We can either go to East, to Hawk’s Nest, or do nothing,” Velez said.