Traditions at Scott is located at 160 W. Woodruff Avenue on north campus. Credit: Muyao Shen | Lantern File Photo
The lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions this semester has led to more dine-in opportunities for students — and bigger concerns about the safety of dining in with students in close quarters.
The concerns follow COVID-19 cases on the rise, with Ohio State’s COVID-19 dashboard reporting a 2.05 percent positivity rate over the last seven days. The dining halls work in a buffet style, where students grab a plate and wait in tightly packed lines to get their food. While masks are required unless eating, social distancing is not.
Michael Switzer, a first-year in computer science and engineering, said he visited the dining halls and did not feel comfortable with the system.
“It’s a bit cramped,” Switzer said. “It is a lot of people in a confined space.”
Switzer said he now uses takeout options and will likely buy meals using GrubHub, a campus pickup and delivery service, moving forward.
“I dined in once and would not want to go back,” Switzer said.
University spokesperson Dave Isaacs said Ohio State is constantly looking to evolve and supply the safest environment possible.
Isaacs said while in-person dining is available, other options exist as an alternative, including takeout and mobile ordering. Delivery robots are also a method new to campus.
“I am very confident in the health and safety protocols and procedures that are in place,” Isaacs said. “They do a spectacular job in protecting the health of students and employees.”
Isaacs said the university relies on guidelines for making decisions from multiple sources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State and the National Restaurant Association.
“It is important in a lot of ways that we gather for a meal. We have been very pleased to offer that in a safe and healthy environment,” Isaacs said. “We heard how important the communal aspects of dining really are.”
