Butler-Wilson serves 3 times more diners than Forbes

Whitman is the third-most popular dining hall, followed by Forbes, which has the fewest card swipes overall. In particular, Forbes lunch sees the lowest amount of traffic.

This past fall, Butler-Wilson served around 1,000 students for dinner each day. Rocky-Mathey served an average of 775, Whitman served an average of 500, and Forbes served an average of 300.

Director of Dining Services Stu Orefice attributed the popularity of the Butler-Wilson and Rocky-Mathey dining halls to the fact that they serve two colleges. However, he also noted in an email that these trends do vary, as students seem to prefer different locations over the course of the week.

“For example, Forbes is very popular during Sunday brunches and vegetarian nights,” he said. Orefice did not give exact figures for the number of students who swipe into dining halls for lunch or breakfast.

While Orefice said that there has been an overall increase in the number of card swipes as a result of the higher number of students signing up for meal plans, the number of daily swipes for both Butler-Wilson and Forbes has remained roughly consistent. In 2009, Orefice told The Daily Princetonian that Butler-Wilson received 1,000 card swipes a day, while Forbes typically had about 275.

Orefice said that the relative unpopularity of Forbes is due to its single-college setup. Forbes residents, however, cited its inconvenient location as the reason why students of other residential colleges do not usually swipe into meals there.

Branden Lewiston ’14, a Forbes resident, said that he liked the “homey atmosphere” of the Forbes dining hall.

“This atmosphere is particularly strong for Forbesians and may not be the same for non-Forbesians who do not come to regular meals and will likely not know as many fellow students in the Forbes dining hall,” Lewiston said.

Emily Whitaker ’15, another Forbes resident, said she only eats half of her meals at her residential college but noted that she always eats brunch in Forbes.

“I think that not many people go there to eat because it is inconvenient for most, but I personally don’t think that the food is significantly worse than any other place,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker also noted that she usually chooses to eat lunch and dinner in Butler-Wilson, rather than Forbes, on days when she has class.

The central location of the Butler-Wilson dining hall is convenient not only for the two residential colleges but also for many upperclass dorms and other popular locations like Frist. According to Google Maps, the Butler-Wilson dining hall is 806 feet from Frist, while the Forbes dining hall is 2,362 feet away, thus making the walk nearly three times as long.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Dining chair for the Butler College Council Alexis Rodriguez ’12 said she thought Butler-Wilson’s location was a key reason for its popularity.

“I also feel like it’s the most welcoming, and it’s the easiest to meet a large group there,” Rodriguez said. “They have a large variety of dining options.”

Students also noted the importance of personal connections to dining hall staff as an influence on their decision of where to eat.

Mathey College Council President Kandasi Griffiths ’14 said that she preferred eating in the Rocky-Mathey dining hall because “the dining hall staff are incredibly personable, making the experience all the better.”