New Web site allows students to rate dining hall food

 Choosing a topic for a final project in his computer science class was the perfect opportunity for junior Conor Gilsenan to execute a plan he had been deliberating on for more than a year.

During his sophomore year, Gilsenan arrived at the dining hall eager to eat a hamburger the university Web site claimed Russell Dining Hall would be serving that evening.

"It was the last straw," Gilsenan said when finding the Web site's menu was incorrect.

He became involved in the student dining committee, which met with the university dietician and dining hall liaisons looking to improve the dining services. Only three other students showed up to the meetings, Gilsenan said.  He could only wonder where the rest of the student body was.

Gilsenan decided to use his final project to emphasize the importance of student input in shaping the way dining services operates and serves students.

That project, revamped, is now titled, napkinboard.com.

The Web site, created solely by Gilsenan himself, provides easy access to each of the dining hall menus, nutritional facts, and eventually, will incorporate student feedback other users can read.

"I think any university could benefit from getting student feedback directly," Gilsenan said. 

Gilsenan also thought the Web site could, eventually, help the university save money by preventing wasted food. The dining halls operate under an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Gilsenan said students tend to choose more than they actually eat, commenting on his own habits of trying things and then deciding what he liked or disliked at the dining hall.

If dining services know what students like to eat, it would be easier to prevent wasting food, he said.

In order for the site to succeed, Gilsenan said it needs to be students' first destination when they think of dining hall food and feedback. By promoting the site through social networks like Facebook and Twitter, he hopes the site's simple navigation and accessibility lends itself to becoming part of student's daily Internet browsing routine.

Ryan Boyer, marketing director of Dining Services, had no prior knowledge of the Web site but said the university offers a survey, entitled "DiningStyles" once a semester which provides the majority of their student feedback.

"We always encourage customers to speak or communicate directly to the operational staff," Boyer said. "Direct communication with the management teams at the locations is often the best option because the feedback is immediate."

However, Gilsenan does not believe a survey that occurs once a semester provides enough feedback for the university to use for evaluatation.

"With once a semester it's good in terms of we can improve general things but week-to-week and day-to-day basis they have no feedback," Gilsenan said.

Boyer would not comment  about the Web site because it is not affiliated with the university and is too new for him to take a stance on whether or not dining services could benefit from NapkinBoard.

Michele Kane, assistant director of residence life, also declined to comment on the site's effectiveness because of its novelty and incompleteness. However, she said the idea of a student in no way linked to dining services, taking the time to create the site is welcoming.

Gilsenan wants to give other students the opportunity to express their opinions in a manner that will benefit other students instead of comments that are never taken into account.

"They eat this food every day too," he said.  "I'm sure they have some opinions."