Rutgers drops cafeteria trays to reduce waste

[Tango Two]

But the days of students loading their trays with as much food as they can carry, even when it's more than they can eat, are ending at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Rutgers is joining a growing list of colleges and universities that have eliminated trays in the dining halls.




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Rutgers drops cafeteria trays to reduce waste

 

[retired711]

Yes, I saw this item and wondered about it. Would students rather hold a drink in one hand and an entree or sandwich in the other, while perhaps wearing a book bag or pocketbook?

 

[LadyRU09]

Both of my grad schools, American and Rowan, didn't use trays by the time I got there. People just got up to get food more often, which isn't a problem unless you have a disability or injury that makes that process annoying for you.

I think the only concern with the lack of trays is the risk of getting bags stolen if you find a table and plop your stuff down before getting your first plate.

 

[srru86]

On minor, very minor, complaint as a professional that wears nice clothes and eats in a student cafeteria with no trays most days is that the tables get much dirtier, much faster. Food, grease and crumbs that would land on trays and get removed when the diner left stay on the tables. Until they hire a bunch more people to wipe down the tables I'll need to do my own clean up before sitting down and watching where I put my sleeves.

 

[retired711]

Originally posted by LadyRU09:
Both of my grad schools, American and Rowan, didn't use trays by the time I got there. People just got up to get food more often, which isn't a problem unless you have a disability or injury that makes that process annoying for you.

I think the only concern with the lack of trays is the risk of getting bags stolen if you find a table and plop your stuff down before getting your first plate.

But didn't that mean you had to stand in line at the cash register again and again?

 

[DJ Spanky]

"Hey, look! There's a fly!"

"Quick, someone get a sledgehammer to kill it!"

 

[Upstream]

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:
Both of my grad schools, American and Rowan, didn't use trays by the time I got there. People just got up to get food more often, which isn't a problem unless you have a disability or injury that makes that process annoying for you.

I think the only concern with the lack of trays is the risk of getting bags stolen if you find a table and plop your stuff down before getting your first plate.

But didn't that mean you had to stand in line at the cash register again and again?

I'm pretty sure there aren't cash registers in the student dining halls. You use your meal card to gain entrance, and once inside you can get as much food as you like, and go up to get more as often as you like.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:
Both of my grad schools, American and Rowan, didn't use trays by the time I got there. People just got up to get food more often, which isn't a problem unless you have a disability or injury that makes that process annoying for you.

I think the only concern with the lack of trays is the risk of getting bags stolen if you find a table and plop your stuff down before getting your first plate.

But didn't that mean you had to stand in line at the cash register again and again?

I'm pretty sure there aren't cash registers in the student dining halls. You use your meal card to gain entrance, and once inside you can get as much food as you like, and go up to get more as often as you like.

Which is the point here, and why the post above yours is dumb. With all you can eat, there is no discouragement from loading up, and not eating - which ultimately costs RU Dining money. The real question is - are they losing more money from people staying away because of the minor inconvenience (probably not - its kind of a captive audience).

At a non-all you can eat you would want to keep the tray - as people would subliminally tend to buy more food in order to fill up the tray.

 

[retired711]

dining halls don't all work the same. At Camden, students and others have to go through a cash register to pay for their food, whether with cash or with a meal card. There the system followed in NB would quickly break down -- even assuming it works well in NB, which I rather doubt unless there are no lines at individual food stations.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:
Both of my grad schools, American and Rowan, didn't use trays by the time I got there. People just got up to get food more often, which isn't a problem unless you have a disability or injury that makes that process annoying for you.

But didn't that mean you had to stand in line at the cash register again and again?

I'm pretty sure there aren't cash registers in the student dining halls. You use your meal card to gain entrance, and once inside you can get as much food as you like, and go up to get more as often as you like.

Correct, those were the all-you-can-eat places I was talking about. Those two universities only have one buffet-style dining hall each, whereas RU-NB has four.

Food courts operate totally differently.

 

[PeteGiam07]

I significantly remember "loading up" on drinks when I went to the dining halls because the glasses at RU are small. Sounds annoying not to have a tray, especially when these dinning halls have so many kids in them during peak times.

Understand they are going to try it to save money. I wouldn't doubt some kind of petition by the students if it gets bad.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by PeteGiam07:
I significantly remember "loading up" on drinks when I went to the dining halls because the glasses at RU are small. Sounds annoying not to have a tray, especially when these dinning halls have so many kids in them during peak times.

Understand they are going to try it to save money. I wouldn't doubt some kind of petition by the students if it gets bad.

Yep. And then in three years after that basically no one will remember the fact that RU dining hall had trays. Its the great thing about running a college. The flip side is of course that the incoming freshmen have no idea what improvements have been made. So for the freshmen who has to deal with a buggy online registration system (to use an example for my time) its a major annoyance, whereas to juniors and seniors who only had the option of over the phone or in person, it was a godsend, bugs and all.

This post was edited on 12/22 1:53 PM by derleider

 

[retired711]

I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

 

[Upstream]

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

This is true - at least at Busch and Neilson since their renovations a decade ago. I assume the Livingston Dining Hall is that way as well since its new. But even before Neislon was redone there were stations - salad, entrees, cereal, beverages, stir fry or whatever they called the station where they made the food to order - so I assume even Brower its not like you are standing in one long line and picking off what you want from each and pile it up on a tray, lest you have to wait in line all over again.

 

[retired711]

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

This is true - at least at Busch and Neilson since their renovations a decade ago. I assume the Livingston Dining Hall is that way as well since its new. But even before Neislon was redone there were stations - salad, entrees, cereal, beverages, stir fry or whatever they called the station where they made the food to order - so I assume even Brower its not like you are standing in one long line and picking off what you want from each and pile it up on a tray, lest you have to wait in line all over again.

thanks, guys. So it's a food court, except there's no cash register -- instead a student shows his/her meal card at the door and so there is no need to wait in a long line. At Camden, we have a food court but with a cash register. The cafeteria has enough people from outside that we can't have the Bush/Neilson system. So if I want dessert -- which I shouldn't have -- after lunch, I have to stand in line all over again at the register.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

This is true - at least at Busch and Neilson since their renovations a decade ago. I assume the Livingston Dining Hall is that way as well since its new. But even before Neislon was redone there were stations - salad, entrees, cereal, beverages, stir fry or whatever they called the station where they made the food to order - so I assume even Brower its not like you are standing in one long line and picking off what you want from each and pile it up on a tray, lest you have to wait in line all over again.

thanks, guys. So it's a food court, except there's no cash register -- instead a student shows his/her meal card at the door and so there is no need to wait in a long line. At Camden, we have a food court but with a cash register. The cafeteria has enough people from outside that we can't have the Bush/Neilson system. So if I want dessert -- which I shouldn't have -- after lunch, I have to stand in line all over again at the register.

I guess thats a way to describe it. What it is is a modern cafeteria. Since its all you can eat you pay at the beginning and not at the end.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
thanks, guys. So it's a food court, except there's no cash register -- instead a student shows his/her meal card at the door and so there is no need to wait in a long line. At Camden, we have a food court but with a cash register. The cafeteria has enough people from outside that we can't have the Bush/Neilson system. So if I want dessert -- which I shouldn't have -- after lunch, I have to stand in line all over again at the register.

Rowan's buffet dining hall is in the student center, which also has a food court downstairs (and a full-serve restaurant next to the dining hall that's open for a few hours). The food court has five different eateries, and they each have separate cash registers (or share one register with the one next to them).

 

[Saint Puppy]

Well I guess I'm just going to open up a tray store right next to Brower - now the students can design and then bring in their own personalized trays for $9.99. Also, those were not just trays - they were sleds at Buccleuch Park when it snowed - a sad day indeed.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by Saint Puppy:
Well I guess I'm just going to open up a tray store right next to Brower

I think Brower is the only dining hall that didn't get rid of the trays. (Is it infrastructure or distance to the tables?)

 

[PeteGiam07]

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by Saint Puppy:
Well I guess I'm just going to open up a tray store right next to Brower

I think Brower is the only dining hall that didn't get rid of the trays. (Is it infrastructure or distance to the tables?)

Believe it or not there is the least amount of space to actually stand on line/get food in Brower.

You basically choose 1 of 2 sides of a hallway type buffet and you have a wall at your back. All the other dinning halls have open stations that let you move around the room freely.

Brower really is embarrassing compared to the rest of the dining halls.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

This is true - at least at Busch and Neilson since their renovations a decade ago. I assume the Livingston Dining Hall is that way as well since its new. But even before Neislon was redone there were stations - salad, entrees, cereal, beverages, stir fry or whatever they called the station where they made the food to order - so I assume even Brower its not like you are standing in one long line and picking off what you want from each and pile it up on a tray, lest you have to wait in line all over again.

thanks, guys. So it's a food court, except there's no cash register -- instead a student shows his/her meal card at the door and so there is no need to wait in a long line. At Camden, we have a food court but with a cash register. The cafeteria has enough people from outside that we can't have the Bush/Neilson system. So if I want dessert -- which I shouldn't have -- after lunch, I have to stand in line all over again at the register.

I guess thats a way to describe it. What it is is a modern cafeteria. Since its all you can eat you pay at the beginning and not at the end.

It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:
It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

They let outsiders eat there by paying out of pocket. No ID necessary.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:
It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

They let outsiders eat there by paying out of pocket. No ID necessary.

Has it changed? because you couldn't 3 years ago.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by camdenlawprof:
I'm still not sure I see why this new set-up is acceptable. There is typically a line at a buffet, even a free one. Are students really willing to stand in line more than once?

I don't know how the dining halls at Rutgers are set up, but in other modern college dining halls, the serving area is set up with multiple stations. So if you want a sandwich, you go to the sandwich station. If you want a salad, you go to the salad station. If you want a hot entree, you go to a different station.

While each station may have short lines, if you want something from each station, you have to stand in all the short lines whether you load up a tray or make multiple trips from your dining table. Eliminating trays doesn't force you to stand in more lines, because even with trays you would have to stand in line at each station to load up your tray.

This is true - at least at Busch and Neilson since their renovations a decade ago. I assume the Livingston Dining Hall is that way as well since its new. But even before Neislon was redone there were stations - salad, entrees, cereal, beverages, stir fry or whatever they called the station where they made the food to order - so I assume even Brower its not like you are standing in one long line and picking off what you want from each and pile it up on a tray, lest you have to wait in line all over again.

thanks, guys. So it's a food court, except there's no cash register -- instead a student shows his/her meal card at the door and so there is no need to wait in a long line. At Camden, we have a food court but with a cash register. The cafeteria has enough people from outside that we can't have the Bush/Neilson system. So if I want dessert -- which I shouldn't have -- after lunch, I have to stand in line all over again at the register.

I guess thats a way to describe it. What it is is a modern cafeteria. Since its all you can eat you pay at the beginning and not at the end.

It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

I was talkign about Neilson and Busch, which are newer than Brower.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:
It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

They let outsiders eat there by paying out of pocket. No ID necessary.

Has it changed? because you couldn't 3 years ago.

Did they change that 3-5 years ago?

 

[PeteGiam07]

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:
It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

They let outsiders eat there by paying out of pocket. No ID necessary.

Has it changed? because you couldn't 3 years ago.

Did they change that 3-5 years ago?

Outsiders can't eat in dinning halls unless your swiped in as a guest by a student or you can pay only on special nights such as "King Neptune Night" where they advertise for outsiders to come.

It's been that way since at least 2002 when i started going there.

 

[PeteGiam07]

*

This post was edited on 1/17 7:52 PM by PeteGiam07

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Originally posted by PeteGiam07:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:
It's not really "modern" at all, since there is no mechanism for a person who does not posses a meal plan to eat there. You can't get into Brower without swiping a card. Not even to meet friends or colleagues or to poke your head in to look for someone.

They let outsiders eat there by paying out of pocket. No ID necessary.

Has it changed? because you couldn't 3 years ago.

Did they change that 3-5 years ago?

Outsiders can't eat in dinning halls unless your swiped in as a guest by a student or you can pay only on special nights such as "King Neptune Night" where they advertise for outsiders to come.

It's been that way since at least 2002 when i started going there.

Thanks, I didn't think I was losing my mind.

 

[LadyRU09]

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Outsiders can't eat in dinning halls unless your swiped in as a guest by a student or you can pay only on special nights such as "King Neptune Night" where they advertise for outsiders to come.

It's been that way since at least 2002 when i started going there.

Thanks, I didn't think I was losing my mind.

2002? I was a student from 2005-09 and I certainly saw out-of-pocket guest prices posted at the registers.

If anybody reading this can confirm whether or not guest prices still exist, please do so.

 

[Sir ScarletKnight]

I believe it's 18 dollars out of pocket, at least at Livingston Dining Hall.

In terms of Brower, don't try to bring a friend unless you don't like them, and are trying to no longer be friends with them. In that case, it's cheaper just to not talk with them. I have a friend who makes the trip to Livingston from College Ave repeatedly, just so she doesn't have to eat at Brower.

Livi is great, the only place you really get a line at are the CTO(cook to order) pasta station and mongolian grill, and the burger bar if it's really, really backed up. Otherwise, it moves fast, and its tasty. Lobster bisque on Fridays is awesome, ribs are great, tandoori chicken is really, really good, I could go on.

I don't think not having trays is that bad. Inconvenient? Certainly. Helpful in avoiding the pounds that college eating can give? Definitely.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by Sir ScarletKnight:
I believe it's 18 dollars out of pocket, at least at Livingston Dining Hall.

In terms of Brower, don't try to bring a friend unless you don't like them, and are trying to no longer be friends with them. In that case, it's cheaper just to not talk with them. I have a friend who makes the trip to Livingston from College Ave repeatedly, just so she doesn't have to eat at Brower.

Livi is great, the only place you really get a line at are the CTO(cook to order) pasta station and mongolian grill, and the burger bar if it's really, really backed up. Otherwise, it moves fast, and its tasty. Lobster bisque on Fridays is awesome, ribs are great, tandoori chicken is really, really good, I could go on.

I don't think not having trays is that bad. Inconvenient? Certainly. Helpful in avoiding the pounds that college eating can give? Definitely.

It used to be that people would go from Livingston to Busch and then Neilson because Tillet was so bad. Davidson had a unique old school charm before they closed it. I used to go to Cooper Dining Hall just for the Edys softserve machines. Beat the hell out of the choc/vaniulla/twist machine in Neilson.

One day, they will have the money for a new College Ave dining hall. But Brower is so central to that area that you would really need to wrap that into a whole huge project for the area. Probably getting rid of Records Hall and the smokestack building and some other stuff.

plus then you have the issue of how to feed all of those people for the year or two the area is under construction. Not sure how to work around that? Turn Records Hall into a makeshift cafeteria for a while until you finish the new dining hall?

Actually I hope that that is the next major project on CA after they get done with the Honors College and Lot 8.

 

[PeteGiam07]

Originally posted by LadyRU09:

Originally posted by ruhudsonfan:

Outsiders can't eat in dinning halls unless your swiped in as a guest by a student or you can pay only on special nights such as "King Neptune Night" where they advertise for outsiders to come.

It's been that way since at least 2002 when i started going there.

Thanks, I didn't think I was losing my mind.

2002? I was a student from 2005-09 and I certainly saw out-of-pocket guest prices posted at the registers.

If anybody reading this can confirm whether or not guest prices still exist, please do so.

Yes, 2002 - 2007

Were they staff or faculty members? They pay for their meals out-of-pocket.

The only information I can find is at http://food.rutgers.edu/


Rutgers Faculty dining facilities are designed with the needs and diversity of its faculty and staff in mind. Faculty and staff at Rutgers have their choice of several options for dining on campus listed below. Click on options for more information.

Dining Options for Faculty and Staff
Faculty Dining Rooms
Dining Halls
RU Express

Faculty Dining Rooms[/URL]
Faculty dining rooms are open from breakfast through lunch offer a wide selection of meals made from choice ingredients at a sensible price. Meals are priced a la carte, and prices vary by dish.
Faculty Staff Dining Room locations and hours can be access by clicking the links below.
Busch Faculty Staff Dining Room
Brower Faculty Staff Dining Room
Livingston Faculty Staff Dining Room

Student Main Dining Rooms [/URL]
Faculty staff can visit one of our four buffet style student main dining rooms to sample various cuisines offered from the daily menu. Faculty and staff can access these dining halls at door price.
For locations and hours of the Student Main Dining Room Hours click here.
RU Express is a debit plan administered in both the New Brunswick/Piscataway and Camden campuses. RU Express offers a cash-free alternative that allows faculty and staff to dine at over 50 on-campus and off-campus merchants using their university ID card.
For more information about RU Express, click here.

 

[Sir ScarletKnight]

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Sir ScarletKnight:
I believe it's 18 dollars out of pocket, at least at Livingston Dining Hall.

In terms of Brower, don't try to bring a friend unless you don't like them, and are trying to no longer be friends with them. In that case, it's cheaper just to not talk with them. I have a friend who makes the trip to Livingston from College Ave repeatedly, just so she doesn't have to eat at Brower.

Livi is great, the only place you really get a line at are the CTO(cook to order) pasta station and mongolian grill, and the burger bar if it's really, really backed up. Otherwise, it moves fast, and its tasty. Lobster bisque on Fridays is awesome, ribs are great, tandoori chicken is really, really good, I could go on.

I don't think not having trays is that bad. Inconvenient? Certainly. Helpful in avoiding the pounds that college eating can give? Definitely.

It used to be that people would go from Livingston to Busch and then Neilson because Tillet was so bad. Davidson had a unique old school charm before they closed it. I used to go to Cooper Dining Hall just for the Edys softserve machines. Beat the hell out of the choc/vaniulla/twist machine in Neilson.

One day, they will have the money for a new College Ave dining hall. But Brower is so central to that area that you would really need to wrap that into a whole huge project for the area. Probably getting rid of Records Hall and the smokestack building and some other stuff.

plus then you have the issue of how to feed all of those people for the year or two the area is under construction. Not sure how to work around that? Turn Records Hall into a makeshift cafeteria for a while until you finish the new dining hall?

Actually I hope that that is the next major project on CA after they get done with the Honors College and Lot 8.

As of the most recent exploratory plan (I went to a meeting/seminar presentation thing), the long term plan is to demolish Records hall and Brower commons, paving the way to turn that entire area into a brand new quad, similar to Voorhees Mall.

Other ideas seen were:
-A boardwalk on the Raritan
-A bridge from College Ave to Livingston, and from Livi to Busch. (For pedestrians/bike traffic)
-A new corporate research avenue on Livingston.

Among many.

I'll see if I can find the presentation somewhere online.

 

[derleider]

1. Boardwalk on the Raritan is useless. Its not an interesting body of water. Its a slow, shallow, flat river with little in the way of wildlife, etc.

2. Definitely need better ped connections from Livi to Busch. More skeptical about CA to Livingston. It would be over 2 miles from Livingston student center to CA student center via Cedar Lane and the shortest bridge possible. Its 3 miles via Route 18. No one is walking either route. Some people might bike, but you are talking about spending alot of money to save a few people five minutes (and basically only in nice weather - figure Nov-Feb and any day its raining you will get almost no one on the bridge.)

3. A corporate research center is nice. I mean obviously NJ has a ton of corporate parks, including many pretty close to RU, so I dont know how much it adds. But presumably the cost would be build into the price of renting the office space, and RU has plenty of land on Livingston to use for something like this.

Obviously, as I said - redoing the Brower area is a huge must.