Danylo Biskup
Contributing Writer
The Cyber Cafe will now be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. The café remains closed Saturdays and Sundays.
Debra Kash, the director of auxiliary services at Dominican University, says the change is due to staffing shortages, budgeting, and the lack of people coming to the café after 5 p.m.
“Due to national staffing shortages the past two years, the Cyber Café has been understaffed and during the evening hours the overall sales have been low. The staff would see an increase in the last 30 minutes of being open but otherwise very low usage,” said Kash.
According to Kash, the decision to change the café’s hours began last spring and involved Dominican University administration and Quest Food Management Services. Student Success and Engagement leadership were also informed of the decision to include their input.
“The conversations to make changes to the Cyber Café started last spring when staffing shortages were really impacting the service and we started looking at different options to improve services,” said Kash.
Dominique Franklin, one of the café’s employees, says employees were not included in the decision to limit the hours of operations and were informed of the decision a few weeks before the start of the semester. She says the decision has only affected them a little, by changing their schedule.
Dining services are reviewed yearly, and the current hours will remain for the rest of this academic year. There are no other definitive changes planned for the Cyber Cafe at this time, but operations are always under review to find new opportunities, says Kash.
The Cyber Cafe is a popular destination for students to eat, study, and socialize. One student, Lewis MacPherson, says he often comes to eat at the Cyber Cafe and knows that the soccer team often visited the café during the evening, before the change in hours. He misses the opportunity.
“It would be nice to have that option instead of the dining hall,” he said.
Another student, Ingrid Bustos, says she usually visits the Cyber Cafe during the mornings and is not affected by the change.
“It doesn’t bother me, but it must suck for residents because it’s a quick way to get food,” said Bustos.
At the dining hall, students can have dinner as late as 8 p.m. during weekdays, 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 7:30 p.m. on Sundays.
