On any warm, fall day at Berkshire, students can be seen making their way to the Jack. They are not going for sports practices, nor are they going to the athletic trainer. They are going to the dining hall, where all three meals are served.
This is a change for Berkshire students. The dining hall was previously located in Benson, but due to the renovation of that building, the dining hall moved to the Jack. The Jack is located near the edge of Berkshire’s campus, beyond the Soffer Athletic Center and past Geier Library. The walk is relatively long, no matter where you’re coming from. From Berkshire Hall, the walk is roughly 5 minutes long, but from dorms on the other side of campus, it can take up to 10. The road leading to the Jack is mostly uphill, with a path sectioned off for walkers.
During the lunch period, a stream of students make their way to lunch, some on scooters and some walking. On warm days, the walk is pleasant, a moment in the busy day just to breathe. “I love the walk,” says Katherine Nelson, a freshman. “But on days when it’s raining or snowing or the weather is not great, it’s a burden.”
As the days get colder, the walk becomes less manageable for students and teachers alike. The majority of Berkshire students all have one thing in common: a dislike of the walk to the Jack. Students can agree that the walk to and from the Jack can take up at least 10 minutes of their lunch period, which is 45 minutes long. When students have a heavy load of homework and need extra time to complete it, lunch period can be the only spare time. However, between the walk to the Jack, eating lunch, and then walking back, students find that there is much less time to complete their work.
Another complaint is the weather. Recently, the weather has gone from breezy and warm, to blustery and chilly. Rain and (occasional) snow make the trek so unpleasant, that some students choose not to go to meals. “I’m going to stop coming during the winter entirely, just because of how inconvenient it is,” agrees a group of sophomores eating lunch together. Others feel differently. “It’s not ideal, but it’s not too bad,” stated a freshman when asked about the situation. When asked if they will stop coming during the winter, another sophomore answers: “No, because I’m hungry.”
“It’s a little annoying, and I never go to breakfast anymore, ” claims a senior.
Mae Lawrence says, “I don’t love the walk. Like, the food’s fine, but the walk is not. I think I will come for lunch and dinner, but less than I do in the fall.”
The general agreement is that the walk is too long, and it will prevent them from going to meals when the weather gets colder. As a solution, Mr. Perez suggests that there be snacks available to students throughout the day.
“I do think that it would make a lot of sense for there to be snacks more available, particularly in the morning, because I think people will go to dinner, people will go to lunch, but people won’t go to breakfast. So I think it would be great if there were bagels and fruit [nearby]”.
Many students support this idea, but winter weather – and the long walk to the Jack – is sure to answer one question: How much do Berkshire Bears really love breakfast?
