Senior Eric Dramstad opened up shop, selling laptop-sized, orange plastic trays in response to Dining Services' decision to go trayless in the dining halls.
Dramstad bought 20 trays from a restaurant-supply Web site and sent a message to members of the Facebook group "Protest Dining Services Trayless Initiative," to let students know the trays were for sale at an off-campus location. He has sold a handful of trays so far for $5 each.
Sue Bogan, director of Dining Services, stated in an e-mail message that she had not heard about students selling trays off campus, but Dining Services has no problem with students bringing their own trays into dining halls.
Dramstad said he bought his own tray over the summer when he learned the university was trying to conserve water and resources by going trayless. He said he has been using his tray all semester, and he carries it in his backpack and wipes off the crumbs when he is finished eating. He has not seen any other students bringing their own trays to the dining halls.
Ryan Boyer, marketing program manager for Dining Services, stated in an e-mail message that of the 3,500 trays that were previously in dining halls, some were given to Trabant University Center, while others were donated to the art department for art projects. The university is storing the remainder of the trays until officials can find an organization that will need them.
"Dining's ultimate goal for the trays removed from the dining halls is to ensure none of the trays make it into a landfill," Boyer said.
Bogan said Trabant and The Scrounge in the Perkins Student Center still have trays because they require customers to pay after they have chosen the foods they want to purchase.
"Unlike the dining halls where customers can select a menu item and return to get a beverage or another selection, customers in Trabant and The Scrounge must carry everything at once," Bogan said.
Senior Owen Smith, creator of the Facebook group protesting the trays, said the trayless initiative causes dining halls to have more spills and dirtier tables.
"It has people shuffling back and forth to get stuff and when you have people mingling like that, it's going to cause congestion," Smith said.
Dramstad said he also has noticed increased messes in the dining halls.
"We went to Rodney a couple nights ago and every table was just disgusting," Dramstad said.
Smith said he thinks there are better ways to save resources than go trayless. He said students should have the option for a tray because they pay for dining hall meal plans.
"I'm more dissatisfied as a customer, not as an environmentalist," Smith said. "I do care about the environment."
Going trayless can be a safety hazard because students are forced to carry hot plates that have come straight from the dishwasher, he said.
Both Smith and Dramstad said they eat approximately the same amount of food in the dining halls as before, but now they try to put more food on one plate.
Bogan said food service provider ARAMARK has never considered reinstating trays in other universities' dining halls.
ARAMARK's experience with going trayless in other schools has been successful in achieving environmental benefits, so no school has returned to using trays, she said.
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