Editorial:

Trayless week could provide clear information

Published Nov. 5, 2009

Once again, Campus Dining Services and the Residence Halls Association are looking at trayless dining.

From Nov. 9 through Nov. 15, all dining halls will be trayless. There will be trays available upon request for students who are disabled and need the trays or for those who feel they absolutely cannot eat without them.

CDS and RHA are finally taking real action on this issue. For the past year, we have been dealing with referenda and asking the students if they would like to go trayless. Of course most students do not want to go trayless — it's an inconvenience. It's also hard to judge the authenticity of those referenda because they had such low participation rates.

The major argument for trayless dining has been how it helps the environment. Neither CDS nor RHA have been able to provide concrete evidence on exactly how much water we would save from not having to wash a tray per person. Nor do we know how much less food a person would eat without a tray.

Now, they can come back from this week and give evidence as to how beneficial it would be for the environment. If they find out it will help the environment, perhaps they can come back and help students make an educated decision about whether to go trayless. If it does not make a huge difference, then the trayless issue should be put to rest.