New Dining Center Hours, Parking Rules for A.P. White Campus

Students Trina Slapeka of Jurmala, Latvia (left), and Filip Capala of Brooklyn, N.Y., take advantage Monday of the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center's continuous dining hours by enjoying a quiet late lunch.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- When the 2009 fall semester began last week on Lindsey Wilson College's A.P. White Campus, students returned to a different place in more than one way. Several construction projects were in progress, a new football program was in its nascent stages, and more than a dozen new faculty and staff had been added to the roster.

To accommodate an increase of more than 150 resident students, the college's Academic Success Center was moved from Weldon Hall to the Everett Building. The college also converted 10 buildings that had once been homes into residence halls to also create more space for the influx of resident students.

But the two biggest changes affected students' eating and walking habits: the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center implemented continuous dining hours, and the A.P. White Campus' parking spaces were zoned into commuter and resident parking.

Continuous dining hours means the Cranmer Center is now open from 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m.-6 p.m. CT on Friday.

"With the tremendous growth in the number of resident students this fall, dining services instituted a continuous-dining program at Cranmer Center," said LWC Business Services Manager Jeff Willis. "This change gives students and members of the public the opportunity to dine anytime during the day that their schedule permits or appetite desires."

Continuous dining has three peak meal times during weekdays in which diners have access to the Cranmer Center's full menus. The peak meals times are: 7-9 a.m. CT for breakfast; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. CT for lunch; and 5-6 or 6:30 p.m. CT for dinner. A continental breakfast will be offered from 9-10:30 a.m. CT. During the remainder non-peak times, diners will be offered soup, salad, deli, pasta, bread, waffle bar, ice cream and beverages.

"It is expected that additional hours will reduce the wait time during the peak meal periods," Willis said.

Willis noted that the Cralle Student Union Building grill is open all day on weekdays; Mulligan's -- the restaurant at the Pines at Lindsey Wilson -- is open for lunch from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. CT Monday-Friday. Membership at the Pines at Lindsey Wilson is not required to dine at Mulligan's.

New parking rules are the other big change on the A.P. White Campus. To make campus traffic more manageable, college officials divided parking spaces into blue and white lots. A blue parking lot, designated with blue parking lines, is for resident students; a white parking lot, marked with white parking lines, is for campus visitors, commuter students, and LWC faculty and staff.

Spaces were added over the summer as the parking lot in front of Richardson Hall was expanded to 285 spaces. The A.P. White Campus now has a total of about 1,130 parking spaces, according to Dean of Students Chris Schmidt.

"The new parking system encourages resident students to walk more often because they will not be permitted to park in the white lots, which are mostly located at the center of the campus," Schmidt said. "This way, the premium spaces on campus are reserved for our visitors to campus."

And whenever Lindsey Wilson has a major cultural-affairs event or athletic contest, Schmidt said the college's public safety officers will be instructed to show a little grace.

"We know there will be big events - such as commencement, major speaker on campus or a big basketball game - that are going to attract a lot of visitors to campus," Schmidt said. "As long as people respect handicapped spots, no-parking areas and fire lanes, we won't ticket their vehicles during the events."

For questions about the Cranmer Dining Center's new hours, contact the Cranmer office at (270) 384-8097. For questions about LWC's new parking policies, contact the Office of Public Safety at (270) 384-8106.

BELOW: A van pulls into a white lot on the Lindsey Wilson College A.P. White Campus. White lots are reserved for reserved for campus visitors, commuter students, and LWC faculty and staff.