As we are all aware of, following the fire in the Hassenfeld-Sherman building on Feb. 2, the Sherman dining hall and the Stein have been closed. As such, additional kosher options have been made available at the Faculty Club, in upper Usdan and the lower Usdan dining hall is currently the only all-you-can-eat dining option open to students. Brandeis students have been given relatively little information about the expected time that the Sherman dining hall will reopen. This editorial board is calling on the University administrative team to come forth with transparent communication regarding Sherm’s re-opening, the extent of the damage done and repairs happening to Sherman. 

This editorial board would also like to highlight the dissatisfaction and discomfort that many students are feeling with the current dining situation. Students with dietary restrictions have been especially impacted; for example, full vegetarian meals were not offered at Usdan until recently and before the opening of the kosher table at the Faculty Club, options for complete kosher meals were sparse. The Usdan dining hall — which even before the fire would sometimes run out of seating during lunch periods — has become crowded far beyond its intended capacity. The only effort that Brandeis has taken to resolve this issue is adding overflow seating in the room across from the dining hall, formerly the game room. This overcrowding has made the simple necessity of eating meals a strenuous task for many students. Longer wait times, difficulty finding seating and non-meal-exchange options effectively being cut in half add extra challenges to daily student life.  

Given the loss of Sherman Farm Table and Sherman Kosher Table, this editorial board submits that the Brandeis administration should either give students on the unlimited meal plan extra meal exchanges to account for the significant loss of options or give them a partial refund on their meal plan. Students who live on campus are required to buy an all access meal plan. These meal plans are an expensive product to begin with, and were bought — by choice or by Brandeis requirement — under the assumption of two operational dining halls. This drastic change in the product Brandeis is delivering to their students ought to be reflected financially. While Sherman’s closure is not the Brandeis administration’s fault, it is certainly their responsibility to adjust either the allowances or the costs of the already purchased unlimited meal plans if Sherman is to remain closed for the rest of the semester.