On Friday, November 12, UConn's Dean of Students Eleanor Daugherty sent an email titled “Think Spring” to all undergraduate UConn students. In her email, Dr. Daugherty provided updates on what the spring semester will look like in terms of COVID-19 precautions, such as testing and vaccination, boosters and third doses, housing, dining, and masking. I appreciate the fact that Dr. Daugherty is sharing these important updates so that students know what to expect next semester. Although I understand the rationale behind many of the decisions made by the university, one I have reservations about is the fact that takeout containers will not be an option anymore, only remaining for “for students with accommodations and those observing quarantine.”

After I read this email and heard a few students expressing concern with this policy, I decided to create a survey to get a better sense of how my peers felt on the matter. I shared the survey on social media and received a total of 51 responses within a 24 hour period. I'd like to summarize those findings here to help present a case for why takeout containers should remain an option for the spring 2022 semester.

The first question I asked was “Why do you want go-to containers to remain an option next semester?” I included this question because I wanted to get a clear picture of why each student found to-go containers useful. After receiving all the responses, I learned there were four common reasons provided:

• Not having enough time to eat in the dining hall due to commitments like classes, work, and extracurriculars: 18
• Convenience (e.g. being able to multitask by eating and studying): 14
• Avoiding crowds/reducing risk of getting sick: 10
• Not feeling well to go to dining hall due to physical or mental health issues: 8
• Other responses were as follows: students feeling like they weren’t getting their money’s worth from their dining plan (3), not being able to find seating in a dining hall during peak hours (2), liking to eat outside (1), unable to carry a plate (1), portion control since one wouldn’t be able to get second portions (1).

Based on the responses to my survey, it is clear that students at UConn find many important benefits to using takeout containers. The four most common responses revolved around either scheduling or health concerns. Of course, there was variation within these two categories and some responses that did not fall into either of these two groups. 

The second question I asked was “If UConn doesn't want to keep providing disposable takeout containers next semester, what other options would you suggest so that there's still some type of takeout option? Check all that apply and feel free to select ‘other’ if needed.” I included this question because I do believe there is a well-founded reason why the university no longer wishes to offer disposable to-go containers, such as supply issues or concerns over the waste generated. Given how valuable the takeout option is for students based on responses to the previous question, it would be ideal if there was a way to alleviate the problems brought about by single-use to-go containers while still allowing students to take food out of the dining hall. The three options I allowed students to respond from, along with the number of students that selected it, were as follows: 

• Allowing students to bring their own reusable takeout container: 44/51
• Providing students with a reusable takeout container that they get to use all semester: 46/51
• Providing students with disposable takeout containers but limiting how many they can use in a given day, week, etc: 22/51
• One student suggested another option: to require students to put their food on a plate and transfer it to their own container in order to avoid contamination.

Based on the responses to this question, it appears that the overwhelming majority of students are in favor of using reusable containers. There was essentially no difference in whether students would prefer having their own container or receiving one from the university, which provides more flexibility for university administration. I would be happy to discuss these options further with the university administration so that we can reach a solution that works best for all parties involved.

I will include the 51 survey respondents as part of my petition supporters since they allowed me to share the findings above, but if you did not fill out the survey please sign this petition so that we can illustrate how many students at UConn believe that this is a worthy cause.