Notes From the Desk

Author: Tom McCann, Sports Editor

It's not that bad. In fact, it's better than that, it's really quite good, and I'm sick and tired of hearing people complain about it. The Atwater dining hall has finally opened, and while I'm apparently in a severe minority, I'm extremely happy about it.

Is it perfect? No. Should that come as a shock? Absolutely not. The key fact here is that it has been open for less than three weeks. Anyone thinking that it should be a finely tuned, seamless operation while the paint is still drying in some corners is just unrealistic. What really gets me are the complaints about the quality of food, undeniably the primary function of a dining hall. Contrary to popular opinion, I think it's actually the best on campus. Does it have the variety of Ross or the panini machine of Proctor? No, but then it was never designed to be on the same scale as Ross and the panini machine might be around the corner anyway. In terms of quality of food, I've been hugely impressed and will confidently declare it the best of Middlebury's dining options.

Aside from the food, I love the windows. Alright, so they don't quite offer the picturesque mountain views we were promised, but anyone there during the day can't help but be impressed by the amount of sunlight that floods in. For that reason alone, the windows are a great feature. The seating layout too, is second to none. Gone is the clambering over tables and chairs we saw at Freeman, replaced by an unmatched ease of movement. Being able to move effortlessly between tables not only gives it an attractive open look, but also makes it infinitely easier to stop at a friend's table as you walk by. There aren't too few tables at Atwater, there are too many tables everywhere else.

And finally, my favorite aspect of Atwater: Troy, the food guy. Always smiling, always welcoming and always willing to chat, he makes my dining experiences that much better. Everyone has their favorite dining hall worker, but anyone who's prepared to cook me a special dish on any given day will not have me naysaying about their place of work.

Simply put, it has been less than three weeks. It's not perfect yet, but it's absolutely not as bad as it's been made out to be, and I for one love the new Atwater dining hall.