With freshmen eating in Damen Hall this year, lunch is looking a bit different. One could think that Damen Hall has everything a freshman needs to have a pleasant lunch experience. It may have beanbags and paninis but maybe that isn’t quite enough. While freshmen were told that Damen would have all of the same delicious food as Tully, some expressed that this was not the case. 

Even when taking just a quick glance, there are clear differences between the two. The choices shown in Tully are more varied, as there are just more options for what to eat. Some of the contrasts between Tully and Damen included the amount of fries, pretzels, salad choices, soup, coffee maker, and more. 

Students have expressed their opinions on the bathrooms as well, and it isn’t looking good for Damen. Alexis Nelson ‘26 said that “the bathrooms in Damen are unbearable. If you need to go to the restroom, the lines are long because there are only four stalls in each bathroom and over 150 people in all of Damen during each lunch.” Fellow student Chloe Boyle ‘26 concurs, stating, “The bathrooms in Damen smell horrible,” clearly showing that freshmen are unhappy.

With this being said, there are aspects of eating in Damen Hall that freshmen say they don’t mind. In the past, finding a place to sit during lunch was difficult in Tully, due to the large number of students eating at the same time. In Damen, however, there are only freshmen, completely eliminating that issue. There is no need to sit on windowsills or outside, and there are even open seats scattered throughout the room. “I never have to worry about finding a seat,” Delaney Brown ‘26 states. 

Not only that, but freshmen appreciate the lack of upperclassmen. “There is a lot more room and it is not as crowded as Tully would be if we ate there,” Cecilia Kaskie ‘26. This creates a much more welcoming and less overwhelming environment overall. Additionally, there are considerably shorter lines in Damen, due to the fact that there are simply less people. Students rarely have to eat quickly as the lines go by so fast that freshmen can leisurely eat and never worry about being late to class.

Overall, the freshmen seem to enjoy eating in Damen Hall. More space and shorter lines appear to matter more than a coffee maker, even though freshmen continue to bemoan the lack of one. Freshmen seem to have reached the consensus that while they would not like to eat anywhere other than Damen, more choices for lunch would be greatly appreciated. With that in mind, freshmen prefer to eat in Damen Hall, and are happy to dine there for the remainder of the school year.