Handing an ID to the employee and requesting a to-go box has become a popular option for visitors of the Rollins and Dobbs dining halls. It’s fast, it’s easy and it has the added benefit of allowing students to disregard table manners in the privacy of their dorm rooms. Lately though, MU’s Campus Dining Services has altered the availability of this option.

Upon the arrival of the spring semester, takeout is no longer an option on the weekends for either of the dining halls, making Sabai and Baja Grill the only places to score some freshly-cooked food for takeout on campus with a standard meal plan on the weekends. According to Campus Dining Services, the service isn’t necessary.

“The intent of the carry-out program we offer at Pavilion at Dobbs, Mark Twain and Rollins was to accommodate busy students who had tight schedules and needed relief by just grabbing a meal that could be consumed at a later time,” CDS Marketing Manager Michael Wuest said in an email. “There is not a strong need for this service on weekends when there are no classes.”

Many students, like freshman Allison Romei, were less than pleased with this alteration to their routines and disagree with the reasoning behind it.

“People are studying on the weekends and have jobs,” Romei said, pointing out that MU’s students aren’t necessarily all just relaxing and taking it easy on their days away from class. “It’s an inconvenience to have to sit and eat your lunch at a table instead of getting it to go. It’s a timesaver to get it to go.”

Wuest said he hasn’t heard any complaints from students thus far, but dining hall employees that are interacting in close proximity with students on a daily basis have a different take.

“I’ve noticed quite a few complaints these past few weekends from people who want carry-out meals on the weekend,” Rollins Student Manager Adam Jensen said. “They usually don’t give a reason that they need it, they just want it back.”

The availability of takeout meals can be seen as a convenience not only for the visitors of the dining halls but for the staff as well.

“More carry-out meals means fewer dishes to wash, fewer tables to clean,” Jensen said. “The only added work is having to watch to make sure customers aren’t getting plates of food in addition to their takeout meal.”

The risk of students being dishonest and abusing the system was also a factor in the decision to implement the new policy.

“We also have experiences with students who were asking for carry-out service (receiving a to-go box), sitting down eating a meal while in the dining facility, then filling up their to-go box and leaving the facility,” Wuest said. “This was not weekend-specific.”