Student: Abbie Bender, a freshman retail management and entrepreneurship major who lives on campus

in Shaw Hall. She is from Southern Maryland. I asked Bender her thoughts on the newly renovated
Schine Student Center at Syracuse University.

As a vegan, Bender appreciates the food options in Schine, particularly at the CoreLife Eatery.

“I like that there’s CoreLife in there because I'm vegan, so there’s not many dining hall options,” she said.

On the other hand, Bender believes the rules concerning COVID-19 safety and eating are very
contradictory.

“We can stand in like a 30 person line, but can’t sit with four people,” she said.

Overall, Bender is happy the space is finally open, even though it is crowded throughout the whole day.

Student: Chris Bezdedeanu, a policy studies and citizenship/civic engagement major who is a
resident advisor for Sadler hall. He’s from Westwood, Massachusetts. I interviewed
Bezdedeanu in the lounge.

Bezdedeanu said that ever since Schine reopened, he’s been there almost every day. He
accredits this to the large variety of food that the new restaurants offer.

“I really appreciate the variety of food options,” he said. “There’s something for everyone in
Schine.”

Although when comparing it to Kimmel food court, he was disappointed with Schine’s current
mode of operation.

“I have a lot of great memories associated with Kimmel,” he said. “I miss being able to get a
burrito late at night with my friends while watching the game. I’m not sure if Schine will be able
to re-create that type of environment, but I hope that it can post-covid.”

Student: Juha Schraden, a freshman Civil Engineering and Political Science double major living
in Sadler Hall. He is from rural Pennsylvania. I interviewed him in the lounge in Sadler Hall.

He says he goes to Schine at least twice a week, but usually more. When he goes, the Panda
Express and Core Life lines are way too long so he gets Halal Shack and Dunkin.

He believes that the dining area is way too small and should be expanded. He also finds that
people often sit and do their work in the dining area. Although this is not allowed, it is not
enforced.
“People that are doing work should not be allowed to sit there,” he said.

Because the dining area is so small and the food places are all right next to each other, it is
usually way too overcrowded.

When he goes, he usually eats his food there and leaves immediately. He does not utilize the
study spaces because they are either full, very crowded, or loud.

Student: Dylan Weintraub, is a freshman and undecided at The Falk School. He also lives in
Sadler Hall and is from Manalapan, New Jersey. I interviewed him in Schine as he was waiting
for his food from Panda Express.

Weintraub says that Schine is pretty nice but he would prefer if his favorite place, Panda
Express, had longer hours as it only open weekdays and closes at 4 pm

He also wishes that there were better food options overall such as a Chick Fil A, or a
McDonalds.

Weintraub also said told me that he believes all the food options overall should be open till
around 12AM/1 AM. Currently, they close at 7 pm on weekdays and there is no place to get food
on campus after the dining halls close.

He says, “that he really likes the architecture with the new room that has the large TV screen.

He also thinks that they are relatively doing a good job regarding COVID safety. However, he
says that they should be limiting the amount of people going into the building as sometimes the
lines are going out the door.

Weintraub says, “I also really like their market and bakery there as they have a lot of food
options.”

Student: Bradley Hoppenstein, a broadcast and digital journalism major who lives in Flint Hall.
He is a freshman from Boca Raton, Florida and I spoke with him in Food.com

Hoppenstein loves the new building, food options and study area.

However, Hoppenstein has been discouraged from going to schine “because it has been hard to
get a table,” he said.

Hoppenstein believes people should not be camping out in the Schine eating area. He wants to
see a thirty minute time limit at the tables. “I think that would really help a lot,” he said.

Hoppenstein also wants to see more tables in the study area, but still socially distant.

Junior Lawrence Xu from Beijing. Off campus close to campus.

“I like the options,” he said. “I don’t like that they closed down kimmel for it, I want some of the
Kimmel options back, especially Haagen Dazs.”
He went to Kimmel occasionally, but he says that Schine is better than kimmel because of its
layout and the renovations.
“I think they’ve done as good of a job as they can, I don’t think there’s much to be improved, in
my opinion.” Xu said.

Student: Arlo Stone, a freshman student who lives right next to the former Kimmel Hall. I
interviewed Stone near Schine as he was doing work on his laptop.

Stone would go to Kimmel every day since he currently lives in Dellplain Hall. He recalls
bringing food back to his dorm all the of the time from Kimmel, something that cannot as easily
be done at Schine.

He mentions that he misses the grocery store that Kimmel had, and he says that the one in
Schine does not compare to it. He says, “I miss how you could use...meal swipes and you can’t
really do that at the downstairs part at Schine.”

“I go there a lot just because I don’t like Ernie Davis,” he said when asked about the food.

Stone then goes on to complement the new building, saying that there are many places to sit
and that the food selection is still good. He does state though that he does miss Kimmel.

Student 1: Gabby Kepnes, a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism major from
Edgewater, New Jersey. I interviewed Kepnes in the lobby of Sadler Hall as she was returning
from class.

Kepnes says that she enjoys the new Schine, even though she’d never experienced what it was
like before.

“It’s a great place to do a ton of things,” Kepnes said. “You can do your work, but also, there’s
food that’s accessible and the bookstore is right there too.”

Kepnes says the best place to study is the top floor, because it’s all-glass walls give a perfect
view for some quiet reading.

Still, Kepnes says that Schine staff did a better job of maintaining COVID protocols at the very
beginning of the reopening. Now, she says there’s a lack of social distancing, especially in the
dining area.
“When it first opened, they were a little more on top of things, like making sure people were
socially distanced,” Kepnes said. “Now, it’s less regulated, in a sense that there aren’t people
telling you to stay six feet apart.”

Though she says staff have become more lax in terms of protocol enforcement by the food,
Kepnes still feels safe in the study spaces.

“Even though I don’t go there a lot, I still think that it’s a great addition and it’s definitely been
helpful for me,” Kepnes said. “It kind of helps safely interacting with people in person more,
because we’re usually inside our dorms most of the day.”

Student: Louis Ledyard, an undecided freshman who lives on-campus in Flint Hall and is
currently undecided in the College of Arts and Sciences. He’s from Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania. I interviewed Ledyard outside Schine while he was sitting on the benches taking
in the fresh air and the sun.

Ledyard’s only concern about Schine is that it is very hard to find a seat inside, especially on a
cold day, because there is limited seating with the social distancing rules.

“I can’t really sit with a group of more than four people at a time, which is annoying,” he said.

Ledyard likes the food choices though but wishes that there were more for him to pick from.

He said that he had CoreLife Eatery before, but had The Halal Shack, Panda Express, and
Dunkin’ Donuts.

“Dunkin and Panda are good but let’s diversify it a little bit,” Ledyard said.

Student: Kelvin Boakye, a freshman Public Health major. I interviewed him on the same floor as me in
my residence hall.

Boakye is not happy with the switch from Kimmel to Schine. He is irritated with the hours, the food
options, and the lack of seating.

He preferred the dining options in Kimmel, especially Quesos, the knock-off Chipotle.

He also pointed out that the school has cut down hours, which is irritating after long hours studying at
Bird when dining halls are closed.

Finally, he complained that there are limited seating options, and that available seating outside the main
dining area is for non-eating only. He said it makes it hard to find somewhere to eat, especially when it is
cold out.
Will Hentschel is a broadcast and digital journalism major in his sophomore year at Syracuse

University. Living at South Campus, he rarely found an opportunity to visit the Kimmel dining

hall or Schine Student Center, but I talked with him just inside the doorway on only his third trip

to Schine.

Hentschel remarked that he never heard bad things about Kimmel and that, as a freshman in

2019, he appreciated the extended hours. He said, “It always felt like a great spot, especially

before COVID, when people could just crowd in.”

Alternatively, he said that, upon just looking around, he understands the hype about the newly

renovated Schine building. “It’s in a good spot and I’m not gonna turn down Panda Express,”

said Hentschel.

Hopping into the seemingly mile-long line to the Panda Express kiosk, he lamented the hefty

wait times, but he re-emphasized the hype around Schine, noting that lines out the door, must

mean the food is good.

He finished our talk with a decisive, “Kimmel was fine, but from my standpoint, Schine just has

that better feel, you know?”

Student: Casey Porier, a freshman who lives on campus. I interviewed him over zoom.

Porier said he has been to Schine about four or five times. “I love it, it’s awesome,” he said. “I
didn’t even know that they were renovating it, so it was a nice surprise.”
Porier said that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the building has dividers to keep people in line. “I
never really feel like there are too many people in there,” he said.

Before the opening of Schine, Porier would normally eat at dining halls.

He said that Covid-19 may hold some students back from going to Schine, and that they might be
scared of overcrowding. “If there wasn’t a pandemic, I think the lines would be out the door,” he
said.

Student: Jacob Leisawitz, a freshman in the college of Arts and Sciences studying
neuroscience. He is from Connecticut. I chatted with him while he was outside with a friend.

Leisawitz thinks the food options at Schine are were much better than the ones at Kimmel.

He also takes issue with people who camp out in the dining area, and sit on their devices
without eating anything.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that...Maybe they should make a rule or something about that,” Leisawitz
said.

He also believes that Kimmel should have been open during the pandemic in addition to Schine,
to alleviate the crowding and long lines.

Leisawitz said there’s a “gray area” in the university’s COVID-19 policy, believing the rules don’t
make sense. He doesn’t understand why the university can’t allow people in other dorms, but
allows tables with multiple people and masks off at Schine.

He believes that Schine needs to be open longer, citing Panda Express’ rather early closing
time of 4pm.

He is also wary of the state’s restaurant capacity increase, believing that it could pose a threat
to the progress made with COVID-19.