Trayless Tuesday sparks controversy, fresh thinking

What started as a simple way to save water and energy, Trayless Tuesday has become the source of much controversy amongst those who eat in the cafeteria.
The program initiated by Environmental Action on March 4th removes all trays from the cafeteria for all meals on Tuesday, obliging students to use only plates, silverware and glasses. The goal of the initiative is to reduce water and energy usage by cutting down on the number of items being washed.
“After looking at the positive impacts in other universities that had initiated the project, we decided to go ahead with it,” explained Environmental Action president and senior Mikayla Tegler.
While the first two weeks have passed with few logistical hitches, the response from some students has been less than positive.
The opposition to Trayless Tuesdays has ranged from the practical to the absurd. Non sequitur comments such as “Trayless Tuesday, the worst thing since feminism” have appeared on the cafeteria’s suggestion board as well as the organization’s flyer for the event being replaced in several napkin dispensers with a flyer titled “Tasteless Tuesdays.”
Opposed to the project, first year Wyatt Peterson said, “It’s the dumbest thing ever. There is no point to it. It’s harder on us to have to carry stuff up as much as four times more.”
Still some students are indifferent to the project.
“It’s not that bad. Some people just need to suck it up and deal with it because its not that big of a deal,” commented first year, Drew Wergin.
Others had a positive reaction but acknowledged that it was not always that convenient to be without a tray.
“While it is a good idea to be aware of the environment, taking away the trays can make it difficult if you are in a rush,” said first year, Stephanie Lindhorst.
Some comments have also been based on real safety concerns such plates being too hot to touch leaving the potential for burns.
“It could be dangerous if people drop things because they aren’t using a tray,” continued Lindhorst.
Staff working in the cafeteria have also noticed that on Trayless Tuesdays there is a larger mess caused by crumbs that a tray would normally catch.
Environmental Action has largely brushed off the unbiased commentary and is working with the cafeteria to resolve the pertinent issues.
Nevertheless, not all students feel that the idea is a bad one.
“It is a good thing even if people don’t like it,” said international student, Laura Reitel. “At least people are thinking about it.”
Tegler echoed this comment saying that the response, whether positive or negative, has got people on campus to think about the issue.
Some students still feel that they were left out of the decision making process as was indicated by one anonymous comment left on the cafeteria’s suggestion board that read, “Don’t allow a minority of students to dictate what the entire student body can or cannot do during mealtime.”
In order to obtain constructive criticism about the initiative, Environmental Action will hold a community conversation open to the entire campus. The event will be held in the Coffee Shop in the lower level of the Story Student Center on Wednesday, March 26th at 6p.m. Environmental Action hopes that the communication will provide constructive feedback that the group can use to improve their program as well as creating a forum for students to air their grievances.
Tegler says the group will continue with the project regardless of the opposition.
“Part of the reason we made it mandatory rather than optional is that we knew that if it were optional few would do it. The way we are living right now is not sustainable and I think people need a push in the right direction,” said Tegler.