By Robin Riskin

Haverford, hold onto your plates—because soon, you might not have any trays.

In the near future, perhaps by January, trays may be moved to a more inconvenient location to deter their usage, said John Francone, Director of Dining Services. Perhaps by next year, Haverford will go totally trayless, though Francone said there would be exceptions for students with disabilities.

Many students simply take their trays out of habit. However, some students, especially athletes who take several plates and cups, like their trays. That is why, instead of plunging headfirst into total removal, Dining Services plans on taking a small leap: by moving trays rather than eliminating them.

Students’ Council, the Committee for Environmental Responsibility and Francone have been in discussion over the past year about decreasing the use of trays, following the trend at many other institutions. Last spring, student representatives on the Administrative Advisory Committee proposed the idea as a way to save money and help the environment.

Haverford spends about $24,300 a year on trays, a figure Francone calculated with information from the technician at the soap company. The number (which assumes Francone’s estimate that about 10 percent of students do not use trays) includes money spent on energy, water, detergent and labor.

However, food waste is the real culprit, when people heap more than they can eat on their tray instead of getting up for seconds, then end up throwing it out.

Francone said the changes will be gradual and compliant with student input.


“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it Haverford style, which is not forcing people,” he said.

Student Council Co-Presidents Will Harrison ’10 and Harrison Haas ’10 are thinking of sending out an email or setting up a survey with information regarding tray usage and asking for student opinion. Council of ’12 member Isobel Grad ’11 plans on bringing up the trayless issue at the focus groups she is hosting for students this week on what the Dining Center needs.

“Hopefully, that’ll get a conversation started, and we’ll figure out if people would really be opposed to it," said Grad, a strong supporter of going trayless. "Students would probably complain at first…but I don’t think it would be that big of a burden to bear.”

Still, it may be difficult to come to a consensus. Already, said Will Harrison, there is disagreement among the two branches of Students’ Council. Executive Council was worried that moving the trays would create difficult traffic patterns, while Council of 12 thought the school should eliminate them entirely.

Dick Wynn, the vice president for finance, had suggested that Students’ Council propose a Plenary resolution on the topic. However, Will Harrison did not recall the message being communicated, and the idea fell to the wayside.

Wynn said in an e-mail that the “question now is how best to go forward in getting student input and then trying some approaches. I leave it up to folks like John [Francone] and Will [Harrison] to carry that out as they feel makes most sense.”

Discussions on trays will be well underway this semester, though Will Harrison said that if people still feel that Plenary is the best forum, a resolution could always be introduced in spring.

Ryan Fackler ’11, a student representative on the AAC, said that going trayless “seems very small, but it would have a noticeable impact.” He added that Haverford is “lagging behind” many other schools which have already taken away trays.

He uses them out of habit, but supports the trayless effort. Meanwhile, the step for Students’ Council is to figure out “what the student body wants.”

As for what the students want, opinion is mixed.

“I think it’s a good idea, I always go trayless," Sarah Navin ‘12 said. "Once people get used to it, it will be fine.”

Evan Raskin ’10 was not sure whether the school should impose forced trayless dining, but he has not used trays for several years and he fully supports trayless dining personally.

“I understand some people may see it as an inconvenience not to use trays, but I don’t use trays, and I don’t find it to be inconvenient," Raskin said. "Let’s all waste less: water, food, energy.”

Others, however, are vehemently opposed.

“As an athlete, I take two cups at every meal," Johnny Williams ‘12 said. "I don’t consider myself someone who eats a shit-ton more than other people, but I need a tray. I would be very, very disappointed if we went trayless.”

He did not like the idea of moving the trays either. Steve Handlon ’13 agreed.

“That would be annoying," he said. "The Dining Center’s already crowded enough without having to search.”

Sam Levinson ’13 stopped using trays a few weeks into his freshman year, but he too wants to retain the option. “Sometimes I have to get three cups of things,” he said. “If I went to a school that didn’t have trays in the cafeteria, I would feel weird.”

He pointed out that not having trays would force more people to get up for seconds, which could make the food area more crowded. He added that some trays are necessary simply in order to put dishes on the conveyor belt (a consideration of which Francone is aware).

Tim Ibbotson-Sindelar ’13 balked at the news that Haverford might go trayless, but liked the idea of merely moving them, although he said he would still take a tray.

Last year, the Dining Center had a campaign discouraging tray use. In June, Haverford reported on its Green Report Card that the Dining Center would eliminate trays during the Fall 2009 semester. Students were alerted to this when discussion sprouted earlier this month on the online Anonymous Confession Boards.

Meanwhile, Francone stated that Haverford still deserves its strong B grade for environmental sustainability in Food and Recycling, even though the trayless plan has not yet been enacted. It was minimal compared to the Dining Center’s extensive recycling and fair trade purchasing, he said.

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