Breaking in Betty’s: Students’ Reactions to New Dining Hall

For most students on campus, transitioning from eating in Valentine Dining Hall (Val) to Betty’s Kitchen in the new Ford Student Center has already become a defining part of their Amherst experience. Students are comparing the food variety, reminiscing on Valsitting, and eagerly awaiting the entirety of the Ford Student Center to open on Sept. 18. 

Food in Ford

Last year, students were excited by the news that Betty’s Kitchen and the Ford Student Center would bring improved dining options to Amherst. Now, with Betty’s Kitchen fully operational, almost all of the students interviewed for this article highlighted the variety of options as their favorite part of Betty’s Kitchen.

“[The quality of food] is a lot better than it was in Val. I like the way that they are trying to accommodate everyone,” Ana Bolanos ’28E said. Darby Redman ’28, who eats gluten-free, explained that options at Without 9 — the station that serves food without the nine most common allergens — have also gotten more expansive. 

“I really love the wok station,” Edie Strianese ’29 said. Indeed, the newly opened wok station, featuring rice and stir-fried dishes, has been enjoying positive feedback from students. Other students seem to agree: At lunch, a line often wraps around the corner, sometimes blocking the salad bar. 

While Betty’s Kitchen offers more diversified food options, some students don’t feel that the quality of food has changed. “I think the food is comparable to the food that we had at [Val].” Mimi Batongmaloque ’29 said. 

“I would say [the food quality is] pretty similar,” Strianese said. “There’s some expanded options, which I appreciate, but then we are missing a few things. I’m looking forward to maybe having some of that return.” 

Though the new beverage station features a coffee machine with options ranging from hot chocolate to mochaccino, some students miss the cold brew machine. “I’m a big coffee drinker and they have gotten rid of some of the old machines,” Redman said. “Now you have to go and buy [iced coffee].”

Whereas at Val students would wait on a primary line for the daily main courses, now students go from station to station in the dining hall to build their plates. “[In Val] there was always one main entree and it sort of followed a schedule, and maybe it’s because we’re not that far into the year yet, but the different stations don’t really have any connection to [one] another,” Redman said. Bolanos added that she ends up eating whatever she would have gotten in Val. “When you first walk in, there are so many options, and then it ends up falling short,” she said. 

Strianese added that the lines at Betty’s Kitchen seem to move slower, possibly due to people still adjusting to the new layout. “Everyone is still getting a feel for how you get around the dining hall,” Strianese said. “I think there is a bit of slowness related to that, but I’m not sure if it’s just because people are confused or if it’s a naturally slower system.” 

Space and Systems

Beyond the food, students are also adjusting to a new environment. “I was shocked that we don’t have to scrape our plates [at the dish return],” Addie Holz ’29 said. In fact, the entire trash system seems to have changed. Besides the fact that students no longer have to clear plates into compost bins, there are notably no trash cans stationed around the eating area, and no silverware-sorting chutes. 

On a larger scale, the atmosphere of the college’s dining experience has changed. “My biggest surprise was the architecture,” Batongmalaque said. “I felt like [Val], with its orange chairs and big circular tables, was very homey, whereas “[Betty’s Kitchen] feels more modern and more like a transitional third space … I don’t imagine Valsitting [there].” 

The layout of the new dining space is also noticeably different from Val. “I’ve been let down by the amount of noise in the room,” Strianese said. “It can be tough to sit down during peak hours and have to basically shout to be heard.” Val had distinct sitting rooms, each separated by walls, which helped contain noise. Now, the vast majority of tables and seats are in one open-concept room, and Strianese feels “they haven’t really done anything to muffle the noise.”  

Alongside the design choices in the main dining hall, students also commented on its bathrooms. “The color … is quite unique,” Holz said. The light blue paint covering the walls, ceilings, and floors was surprising to many, especially compared to the familiar neutral-toned Val bathrooms.

Looking Forward

There was some initial disappointment that the Ford Student Center wasn’t fully finished when all students arrived on campus, as students temporarily lost access to the resource centers. As an orientation leader, Holz recalled having to tell her squad members that “the [Queer Resource Center] exists, I swear, but we also have no idea where it is.” Nevertheless, there is still much to look forward to in Ford. The Alumni Pub, a brand new game room, and the relocated student resource centers are all set to open in the upcoming weeks. “I would have loved to have it all open at the same time,” Maya Harish ’29 said. “But I’m excited to see [everything] when it fully opens.” 

Batongmalaque encapsulated the anticipation that comes with the massive change facing campus: “I’m looking forward to learning more about the new student center, but I’m also a little bit scared.”