Tray-less is Sexy.
Really it is. Read this post to find out why.
For those who have not heard, Crossroads and CKC are going Tray-less every Friday in October. The Residence Hall Association is tabling both to inform students about why the trays are being taken away and to garner student support for the Tray-less movement with surveys and a petition.
What started the movement to go Tray-less and why should Cal students join in?
Colleges and universities across the nation are ditching trays as a way to cutback on food, energy and water waste. Schools that have implemented Tray-less dining include NYU, University of North Carolina, University of Florida, Stanford, and Cornell. In most cases, the food and water savings are immense.
Williams College in Massachusetts is saving an estimated 14,000 gallons of water annually since eliminating trays at one of their four dining halls in Spring 2008. The Rochester Institute of Technology estimates that they spend 10% less on food since eliminating trays, even though food costs are rising.
We (the DSECs) are in the process of taking data for how much tray-less dining reduces food waste in the dining commons by measuring the ounces of food waste per student on tray-less nights compared to other nights. Keep checking this blog for updates! And please vote on our online poll, even if the thought of tray-less makes you cringe.
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I completely agree! Going tray-less really isn't all that hard. Everyone talks/acts as if going without a tray makes it much more difficult for them, but I like it a lot better.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I take less food because I know that I'll have to carry all the plates. Then, if I still am hungry, I'll clear those plates and go back for whatever else I want.
Second, the trays are kind of awkward - have you tried fitting two plates and a cup on it? Yeah, it's precarious. Going without a tray lets me carry two plates, establish where I want to sit, and then go back for drinks/utensils (or I'll tuck utensils in the back pocket of my jeans -- definitely sexy haha).
Not to mention, on a completely surface level, the trays are bulky and I always end up bumping into people. They're usually wet, too, which is annoying. So going without them really isn't all that bad.
And beyond that, if everyone banded together to stop using trays, we'd be seriously helping out the environment! Isn't Berkeley supposed to be into helping the environment? Stopping waste, protecting resources, conserving water, etc? We should be setting an example to schools who haven't yet converted, not exasperating California's water problems!
And seriously. Stanford goes tray-less? We're going to let STANFORD be more environmentally conscious than the NUMBER 1 PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE NATION!?! Yeah. That's what I thought. Come on, Bears... Go tray-less. Do it out of not waiting in those long lines to get trays. Do it out of not bumping into other people. Do it out of helping you eat less food. Do it out of a love for the environment. Do it out of school pride. Just do it :)
Tray-less would be pretty fun. I know for a fact that when I go to the DCs there are always mountains of trays to clean up after. From an optimization standpoint, going tray-less just reduces the work for everyone, and helps to keep our dining commons more sustainable. Sounds fun.
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