Valentine Dining Hall has been hailed as a key factor in the close-knit community of Amherst College. Since everyone eats together at the same place, students are able to come into contact with the rest of the student population simply by going to meals every day. However, having one dining hall that provides for the culinary needs of the entire college means that students don’t necessarily require kitchens to use in their dorms. Since every meal is fully provided for, kitchens become an unneeded luxury. Unfortunately, this serves to discourage students from learning how to cook and hinders those who do want to cook from doing so. Students could benefit in many ways from having ready access to such culinary facilities. A major goal of the college is to prepare students to enter the Real World, in which relying exclusively on frozen meals and other people is not an option for self-respecting adults.

Easily accessible kitchens for all can go far in encouraging students to learn how to cook, a valuable lesson for life after Val. Even if a student eats at Val 19 days out of 20, that one day of cooking, or even watching others cook, will be helpful in familiarizing the student with this important skill. Even learning a few simple recipes or cooking a couple times for special events is much better than knowing only how to microwave ramen and Easy Mac.

The few kitchens on campus are by far insufficient in promoting these values. There is not a single kitchen in any of the first-year housing buildings, so first-year students are hard-pressed to find a way to cook other than making stir fry and panini at Val. Most of the kitchens available on campus are in Theme Houses, making them hard to access for the general student body.

As much as students “love” Val, sometimes they just want a little variety in their diets. Since eating out can be costly, students would enjoy having the low-cost option of cooking for themselves inside their dorms. Residence Counselors would also be able to more easily organize programs and events that require kitchens, allowing for increased dorm bonding. For students who do not already know how to cook, the College should create basic workshops to teach students this valuable skill. More advanced training should be available to those interested in something more ambitious. Cooking is a very important skill to have upon leaving college, and it shouldn’t be hard for students to learn on campus.

Furthermore, a home-cooked, or in this case dorm-cooked, meal is generally much healthier than eating out. If students were given the opportunity to cook for themselves, it would encourage a healthier lifestyle overall. Students who have certain dietary needs, such as allergies, could expand their options greatly by cooking their own food. Students would not be required to adapt to the limited food choices provided at Val, and would be more in control of their eating habits.

With easy access to a kitchen, students could more easily prepare recipes from home. This would not only provide the comfort of eating familiar foods, but also allow students to share these recipes with others. Students could bake together and prepare festive foods for holidays. Food and its preparation are often prominent and important parts of holiday celebrations.

Along with these changes, an expansion of meal plan options should be considered in order to accommodate students who would like to eat at Val less frequently. This would be especially helpful as we expand the student body, as overcrowding is an issue that will only get worse. As the College looks to continue its renovations, the installation of kitchens should be a priority.