Pacific Index

Student Senate President Kyle Woodcock takes the first step to improve Pacific’s dining experience

   It certainly seems as if an increasing number of students are reporting dissatisfaction with their dining experiences. But as Shakespeare pointed out, sound and fury about food quality doesn’t signify much if those comments don’t land where they can make a difference.

   Student Senate President Kyle Woodcock, Class of 2027, is looking to change that—and to create an opportunity for students concerns about food quality to actually become constructive criticism. 

   “Last year and then the beginning of this year, I heard a lot of complaints from friends, from people on YikYak, and just around about the dining and that whole service,” he says, “so I figured I might as well try to do something about it and figure out if there are ways we can improve that or if there are some miscommunications going between dining staff and students.” Woodcock continues, “Just kind of make a better dining experience for everybody.”

   Yet, despite the setbacks and prolonged conversation, Woodcock’s hard work is finally bearing fruit. Woodcock has created an online form for students to voice their complaints and ask any questions they have about any food-related topics. At a meeting with the food service staff that is set for the end of February, Woodcock plans to read out these concerns and questions for them to respond to. 

   But, in spite of the cacophony of complaints, Woodcock isn’t getting much buy-in from students to actually lodge those comments; students just aren’t using the form he created. “I tried putting flyers around with the QR code on them, but thinking about myself, I hardly look at the flyers, so why should I expect all of the students to? So I think part of it is just finding better ways to communicate to the student body and make it more accessible and just make it easier for students to access that,” Woodcock explains. 

   Woodcock recounts his initial thoughts going into the start of the project, saying, “The change in my mindset was probably the biggest challenge to overcome,” he admits. “When I started the project, I had the mindset of ‘us vs. them,’ and my initial email to them was a little sassy, a little passive-aggressive, but after having a meeting with them initially, I realized, you know, they’re here to make a better experience for us, and they’re not doing anything specifically to harm or make us have a bad dining experience because that’s just not what anyone at Pacific is about.”  

   Woodcock is doing everything he can to improve the Pacific dining experience for everyone involved, but it will take more than just his effort to make a difference.