I left my dorm at 5:55 p.m. on
Wednesday the 21st of September to walk to Cox Dining hall for
dinner. Upon my arrival, at 6:00 p.m., there were a series of steps leading
down to two big glass doors that led to the dining hall. Inside, there were a
series of tables on the outside half, similar to what one would expect at a
mall food court. Large lights, which looked like orbs, and decorations hung
from the very high ceiling. On the other side, the side farther away from the
door and Asbury Circle, various vendors were lined up in a semi-circle along
the perimeter of the dining hall. Inside the semi-circle, there were more
seating options, which included long rectangular tables, with chairs on the
sides, and booths. The vendors included: Freshens, a salad and frozen yogurt
vendor; Twisted Taco, a taco vendor; Café Compesino, a coffee shop; a
make-your-own sandwich station; a sushi and Japanese food vendor; and a few
others. Morgan, a first year student, said, “I have never eaten at COX, but
based on appearance, I would give it a 6”.
I decided to get a salad from
Freshens, so I walked over and waited in line behind four other customers.
Three of them looked as if they were undergraduate students at Emory, and one
was a middle aged woman dressed in business casual attire. I waited seven
minutes until I got to the front of the line, and once I reached the front, the
kind-middle-aged worker, named Kimberly, asked in a groggy voice, “Salad or
bowl, honey?”
“Salad, please.” I answered, and she
scurried away mumbling something about getting more bowls. Kimberly, along
with the other woman working at the cashier at Freshens, where wearing black
caps with a white button down shirts, aprons, and white pants. Kimberly came
back five minutes later, with a stack of metal bowls. “What you want in it?”
Kimberly sleepily said, and I went on to list all of the things that I wanted
in it. As Cox closes at 7, the majority of the add-ins that I asked for, like
egg and pesto, they were out of and Kimberly unapologetically said, “What else,
don’t have that!” Once Kimberly finished making my salad, she handed it to the
woman at the cashier who said, “Want anything to drink, baby?” I said I didn’t
want anything else, paid for my meal, and then headed over to the “hydration
station” to get a glass of water. Both Kimberly, the woman at the cash
register, and most of the other Cox Dining Hall workers that I saw looked
extremely tired and were ready to go home after a long day of work. After
paying for my meal and getting water, I sat down at one of the booths in the
middle of the dining hall and was surrounded by students frantically studying
for their midterms the next day, talking about weekend plans, and some adults
just grabbing a bite to eat with their colleagues. At 6:15, about 40% of the
tables were occupied. Once I finished my meal, around 6:40—20 minutes before
closing, the dining hall was about 30% full. When I walked out, the majority of
the people in Cox were students. Morgan stated that when she visited COX around
5:30 p.m., it was “relaxed” and that she “saw a sushi place” so she “definitely”
has to go back.
