Students are busy, they could be balancing any combination of rehearsals, performances, sports meets and practice, work, tutoring, and family obligations on top of their academics. Easy access to food is imperative. The current hours that the Smith Dining Hall is open is not sufficient. Often, students are not able to get to the dinning hall to eat dinner until after it is already closed. Performing-Arts students have evening rehearsals which let out at nine or ten at night, and need another meal to replenish their bodies. Not having access to a full meal until 11 a.m. on weekends, can greatly reduce a student's ability to be productive. 

Options other than the dining center are limited, mostly fast food, and can take a toll on a college student's limited funds. Students and their families invest a lot of money to cover room and board costs (over 18K a year per student), but the unlimited meal plan many students rely on is not truly unlimited if meals are only available during certain hours of the day. 

This petition aims to push Dean College to follow in the footsteps of Lynn University (another small, private college which goes through Sodexo for their meal plans) and open the dining hall 24/7. 

Or, at the very least, to increase the Smith Dining Center hours of operation to better accommodate students' busy lives: 7:30 am-7:30 pm on weekends and 7:30 am to 10:30 pm on weekdays.