For students who have lamented the lack of hot, fresh bagels available on Sunday mornings, good news is on the way: Beginning this fall, Einstein Bros. Bagels will now open at noon on Sundays instead of the usual 5 p.m. To compensate for the added hours, the Stein will no longer be open on Mondays, according to former Student Union President Herbie Rosen '12.

Rosen announced the scheduling change to the student body in his second and final State of the Union address on May 3 in the International Lounge of the Usdan Student Center. The change in hours was the culmination of a Union initiative to extend Einstein's hours and the capstone to a year in which campus dining received much attention. Other changes included the extension of Saturday Provisions on Demand Market hours and the launch of an in-depth review of Dining Services by the University administration. The Einstein's hours adjustment is the product of a campaign spearheaded by the head of the Senate Dining Committee, Senator for the Class of 2014 Ricky Rosen.

According to Ricky Rosen, the changes will remain in place for a full academic year, after which time Brandeis Dining Services will review them and make a decision to either renew or discontinue them. Dining Services goes through a similar review process for all hours at all locations annually. In an interview with the Justice, Ricky Rosen speculated that the only thing that could cause the new Einstein's Sunday hours to be reduced or reevaluated is if students do not use them. But, Rosen added, "We would expect that that's not going to be a problem."

"If it's burning money, I'm sure they'll rescind it, but I think it'll be popular enough that it will keep going," said Herbie Rosen in an interview with the Justice.

Judging by survey results and constituent feedback, Ricky Rosen said that "this is something that is going to be very well received by the students. ... We're expecting even more of a stark response" to Einstein's changes than to the two hour P.O.D. Market extension which the Senate Dining Committee and University Dining Services implemented last semester.
Herbie Rosen cited low Monday attendance at the Stein as the reason for the choice to cut hours there. "We looked at the PULSE surveys, where the Stein is ranked quite low in terms of student attendance and interest, and we thought it was a reasonable decision to make," said Rosen.

Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Collins approved the exchange in hours between the Stein and Einstein's late this semester, days before Rosen gave his State of the Union address. The elimination of Monday service will be a change from the Stein's usual daily hours of 5 to 9 p.m.

According to Ricky Rosen, weekend Einstein's hours were first pinpointed as a student concern at the beginning of the spring semester, when the (then ad-hoc) Dining Committee evaluated student feedback from its general surveys. A survey specifically regarding the matter was sent to the student body via email in early January. The survey garnered responses from 748 students, or just over 21 percent of the undergraduate student population-what Rosen called an "extraordinary" amount of feedback.

According to survey data, the vast majority of respondents-96 percent-said they were unsatisfied with Einstein's weekend hours, while 80 percent said they would prefer to extend Sunday hours as opposed to Saturday or Friday hours. An overwhelming majority of respondents, 92 percent, said that they would make purchases earlier on Sundays if the store were open. Several individuals indicated in free-form responses that they were often in the Shapiro Campus Center, where Einstein's is located, early on Sundays and would find it convenient for the primarily breakfast-oriented shop to be open during that time.