There is not a place on campus where food is available 24/7.
Montgoris Dining Hall, Marillac Cafeteria, D’Angelo Center’s food court, the Marketplace and the Red Storm Diner all have a multitude of food options that are tasty and fulfilling, depending on who you ask, but they’re not open all the time.
Montgoris Dining Hall, known as “Monty’s” closes at 10 p.m. through Sunday, except for Friday and Saturday when it closes at an early hour, 7 p.m.
The only logic that justifies this is that St. John’s must assume that most students are off campus visiting the city and friends, by 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
With this outlook, they are neglecting the students who live on campus, who are forced to pay for food, when they already pay for a meal plan, simply because the school decides to close Monty’s incredibly early.
Maybe it is the school’s way of getting more revenue at the Marketplace, which closes at 1 a.m., Mondays through Sundays. Students can either pay for food through their Storm Card’s flex dollars, which is real money, or they can pay with cash or their own debit and credit cards.
Although the restaurants in DAC and Marillac all have different closing times, none of them stay open past 10 p.m. on any weekday.
The Diner and the Marketplace are the only places on campus that stay open past midnight.
However, after 10 p.m. at the Diner, a premium swipe must be used or the student’s personal cash and buy food.
This is one of the biggest flaws I believe St. John’s has.
It is mind blowing to me that St. John’s does not offer a 24-hour food option, that allows the use of Storm Cards and that does not require the use of your premium swipes.
Perhaps it’s too much to ask, perhaps it would be too much work to find people willing to work at a 24-hour place on a college campus, but I genuinely feel that the school could use it.
It’s more than frustrating when it hits 7 p.m. on a Friday, for instance, and I realize that Monty’s has already closed. DAC and Marillac’s food options open past 7 p.m. on Fridays, are more fast food than anything and there are few options the Diner offers that won’t cost a student their premium swipe.
The Marketplace would seem like the best option, but as previously said before, it costs students.
I think it would be incredibly beneficial to St. John’s if they considered the idea of having a 24-hour restaurant, café or deli of sorts.
A place where students could use a regular swipe or pay with cash or card would be unnecessary.
