One of the starkest changes we have experienced as a school since moving to Saadiyat Island is the drastic differences in the dining experience. While it may be easy to pass this discontent off as Sama nostalgia, there is certainly something more to the issue. On-campus rumor posits that changes to what was already a respectable system are the responsibility of Tamkeen or some other non-NYU Abu Dhabi actor. It is necessary to point out that not all of the changes have been negative; many people view the general quality of the food as having markedly improved. However, other critiques are still valid. Furthermore, the manner in which the dining situation has been handled is indicative of the administration’s, or at least their government partners’, methods, something that extends to many aspects of our university life.

Those of us fortunate enough to have experienced Sama will certainly fondly remember the ability to order food from outside, especially late at night, after get-togethers or while studying. The move to a largely barren island means that conveniences such as the easy access to food outside of the dining hall, the true convenience of a store like Al Safa and the one dirham chai are also things of the past. Even ordering is obstructed by minimums as absurd as our distance to the city. The university may not be obliged to provide these sorts of things but that has not seemed to limit the generosity of the university in the past and could be deemed nearly essential to some. This new inaccessibility has also led students to take the issue into their own hands, like the Lonely Tacos project that sold tacos during late hours to those in the know.

A variety of other complaints have come up, some of these are genuine and others frivolous. Another thing that strikes anyone attempting to dine during peak times are the lines. They were admittedly much longer in the first week, indicating that this problem is at least being sorted out, but they remain strangely long considering the larger space and increased number of staff, and one has to wonder what things will be like when the campus is at full capacity. This is exacerbated by the fact the Grab and Go is not open for as long as the one in Sama and neither is it as accessible nor sophisticated. These concerns about when and where we have access to food, given the drastic reduction in availability stemming from our move to Saadiyat, are completely genuine.

Other issues may be legitimate, but appear hyper-specific. For example, while no one will argue that the diversity of food has not increased, our ability to mix and match our meals in order to tailor them to our tastes has been restricted. The salad bar in East Dining Hall is also sparse, and on certain days contains a variety of ingredients that seem odd in the context of an area labeled salad bar. In contrast the salad options in Sama were luxurious. Such complaints are minor given the system compared to many others, but when placed in the context of NYUAD Dining’s past and characterized as representative of larger structural issues they become vital to our discussions as an institution.

This may seem like a whining diatribe, and there must be sufficient time for a sort of equilibrium between student and administration expectations to be reached, as with many of the bugs experienced as we moved onto the new campus. The problem at hand is that these minor issues of the salad bar, lack of fruit etc. are indicative of larger issues about the way the transition to Saadiyat has occurred. It seems at times that form, or rather certain groups’ interpretations of how things should be run, has superseded function of the campus. We must create an open dialogue to address these issues and it can only begin when all stakeholders: students, faculty, staff, administration, Tamkeen and ADNH, can reveal themselves, their relationships to each other, and the rationale behind their choices. Complaints about the spartan salad bar may seem entitled but they are also the perfect point to begin a much larger discussion to bring clarity to what may be purposeful obfuscation of our community's inner workings.