This picture was taken in Chase Round as I asked one of the dinning hall staff member for more waffle batter.

The dinning halls at Wheaton College are a place to meet friends and take a break from classes or homework. It is also one of the few places where Wheaton students can interact with residents of the Norton community. The connection between the students and the dinning hall staff can be strong and it can influence the places where students will eat. For example, me and my friends live on upper campus, but we all like having lunch in Chase Square because Will, the stir fry guy, is friendly, a great cook and we have developed a good relationship with him over the years. I usually talk to Will about soccer, classes and I complain about the limited food options that are available in Chase Square. Furthermore, my cross-country friends and I always have breakfast in Emerson dinning hall because Rada, the lady who makes omelets, is very sweet, also a great cook and is known for having a very positive attitude towards life.

            In fact, it is this positivism and cheerfulness that is expressed through many of the staff members that makes the interactions between students and staff strong. People who work in the dinning halls have very difficult jobs and most of us cannot imagine ourselves working in the dinning hall every single day. Therefore, most of the students develop a great respect for some of the employees and even if a staff member is not doing his or her job properly, we justify their actions because of their labor-intensive work.

            Furthermore, our lack of understanding of these people’s economic status has developed ‘rumors’ within Wheaton Students that try to explain the dinning hall employee’s daily challenges. After two and a half years at Wheaton, I’ve heard people say that certain dinning hall employees are drug addicts and others say that Wheaton hires members of a rehabilitation facility that is apparently located somewhere is Norton. Unfortunately, this is the way in which many of our students interpret poverty or low-income jobs (although we don’t know the monthly income of any of these people). We tend to think that people that are poor have made terrible life decisions and we don’t acknowledge other challenges that have impeded people to get a proper education or a better job.

            Perhaps our understanding of these people’s economic status is not great, but at least we develop a greater appreciation for other jobs that are difficult and essential for every student.