It's inevitable that the food served on any college campus will be just about average. Maintaining some standard of taste and quality is impossible for any catering service responsible for serving such a large number of people. This statement is an oft-repeated rant that one hears everywhere. There are, however, a number of genuine concerns about the inadequacies of the general meal plan and dining system at the College that should be looked into and amended.

First of all, Valentine closes ridiculously early. Invariably, everyone's hungry again by midnight. If extending the dinner hours entails greater costs, the College could consider postponing the dinner timings, from say 6 p.m. onwards. In any case, one hardly finds anybody in the dining hall until around 5:30 p.m.

Perversely enough, the only other on-campus alternative to Valentine, Schwemm's, closes by 1 a.m. every night. Also, considering the fact that restaurants in town close at the latest by 2 a.m. on weekends and even earlier during the week, the College requires an all-night dining option.

Many upperclassmen are on the alternative meal plan that lets you swap breakfast for $100 in Bonus Bucks. Schwemm's is also the only other place on campus, other than vending machines, where you can use this money. I think it would suit the purpose of such a plan better if there were more options. Schwemms' current hours make it even harder for students on this meal plan. On weekends, for example, Schwemm's opens at 7 p.m., leaving students on such a plan forced to buy breakfast at Val. At least on weekends, Schwemm's should be open throughout the day.

Another thing the College could consider is replacing the current centralized system with a number of small dining halls throughout the campus. In this fashion, catering to 1,600-odd palates would be easier. Who knows: With such a system in place, the quality of food could also get better. The insane noontime rush on weekdays that one has to confront in Valentine would also be avoided.

There is of course the question of funding that such a plan would require. It will certainly be more expensive than the system currently in place. Yet colleges with smaller budgets have managed this. The students at Smith, for example, enjoy eating at various campus locations, each one of which offers a different cuisine. Furthermore, if the College offered different cuisines, it would serve as an acknowledgement of the diversity of the Amherst population.

All things considered, Valentine food is not as bad as we sometimes make it out to be-it could definitely be worse. But the student body would certainly benefit from a reconstruction of the dining system. The College should at least begin by changing the Valentine eating hours.

Sodhi can be reached at ssodhi08@amherst.edu