As the Lent season progresses, students often depend on Campus Dining to help them fulfill their religious obligations, including, among other things, not eating meat on Fridays.
Seafood selections are part of the regular menu in campus dining halls every Friday during Lent and are available upon request for lunch and dinner every other day during Lent, said David Heidke, resident district manager of LSU Dining Services.
“We do what we can to accommodate students,” Heidke said, adding that the dining halls serve more than 40 pounds of seafood each day during Lent.
One Catholic student said he thought the accommodations by Campus Dining were sufficient for his Lenten needs.
“At the Louisiana Kitchen [in the Union Tiger Lair], they usually have seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffeé and other things like that,” said biological sciences sophomore Jimmy Vermaelen.
Vermaelen said the Magnolia Room often serves seafood items, and students “can always get a salad or something.”
Some students, however, thought Campus Dining should offer a wider selection.
Ankit Tandon, a computer science and computer engineering senior, said though he is not a vegetarian, he wishes there were more vegetable options in the Union.
“I prefer a vegetarian diet most of the time,” Tandon said. “They don’t offer enough combinations.”
Tandon said most vegetarians he knows usually avoid the Union, preferring instead to bring their own food or eat off campus.
Another student said a lack of alternative food choices forced her to change her Lent plans.
“I tried to give up meat for Lent, and it didn’t work,” said electrical engineering sophomore Lynn Smith. “I was nutritionally dissatisfied.”
Smith said she often found the salad and fruit offered in the Union Tiger Lair to be not fresh.
Whether students have a certain diet because of religious, health or other reasons, Heidke said Campus Dining provides a wide dining selection for them.
“The majority of the time we’re able to help identify foods that meet a particular student’s needs,” Heidke said. “Many times requests are related to medical dietary restrictions rather than religious based.”
Katherine Nolen, a dietetics junior, said she thought the range of selections in the Union was improving, but still could use work.
“I think they need to have a more multicultural selection of foods,” Nolen said. “The sushi was a good addition.”
Nolen said Campus Dining should offer food that accommodates more vegetarians, vegans and people of different ethnic backgrounds. She added, though, that the selection of foods was good considering the limited facility space in the Union.
Heidke said Campus Dining is willing to consider all requests from students, but factors such as cost and overall acceptability of menu choices also affect decisions.