a. The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September7, 1978-Page Housing considers Hill area meal consolidation by RICHARD BERKE Sleepy, slipper-clad diners who like to stumble down to their Sunday dinner just before the cafeteria doors slam, may eventually have to break their last-minute eating habits. The University Housing Office is con- sidering plans to consolidate food ser- vice for the Hill area dormitories with a. central dining hall behind Mosher- Jordan. The new facility would cost some $3.5 million. UNIVERSITY Housing Director Robert Hughes said the idea of food service consolidation has come up several times in the last decade, but has been' stymied by student opposition. Now, Hughes said, soaring housing ex- penses are forcing his office to take another serious look at consolidation. Last December, Hughes directed a task force of Housing Office officials to examine the feasibility. of con- solidation. Hughes also hired Winebrenner & Ebejer Architects, Inc., a Farmington Hills firm, to conduct a feasibility study. The consolidation would replace existing food services in Couzens, Alice Lloyd, Mosher-Jordan, and Stockwell dorms. The task force's report estimated that a move into one dining area would lead to an annual savings of nearly half a million dollars, mostly due to reduced labor costs. Most other large univer- sities have consolidated food service. ACTION ON the consolidation plan hinges on the Regents' approval, as well as that of the Housing Office. Specifically, the Mosher-Jordan ad- dition would be built in the space direc- tly west of the long axis of the dorm and between the two east and west wings of the existing building. The addition would contain dining rooms overlooking Palmer Field in addition to multi-purpose rooms. Construction of this option would result in 100 additional student spaces in the other dorms where food service would be cut. The firm said extra space would also be available in the Hill area dorms for seminar rooms, dance studios, band rooms, recreation space, cooking areas, arts and crafts rooms Architect's model shows proposed cafeteria consolidation plan behind Mosher- Jordan. troduced. "As a concept I'm against it." But Mike Synk, former president of the student-composed University Housing Council, said he favors the consolidation idea but has doubts about the costs involved. "I CAN SEE why consolidation is a good thing. You can take space and get more room," he said. "But at $3.5 million and rising dorm rates and no new construction of dorms, it seems kind 'of funny they'd want this con- solidation. It's really stupid the way everyone eats .in their own dor: ms. . . there's a lot of duplication." "I think it's (consolidation) a good idea because dorm rates have been going up seven to eight per cent each year arid I know for a fact one of the biggest reasons for consolidation of food services is high labor costs," said junior Mike Raymond, former president of the Mosher-Jordan student government. The Housing Office task force-sur- veyed more than 800 dorm residents to determine what student reaction would be to the consolidation plans. Respon dents said they would favor eating ir their own dorm, even if a wider variety of food choices were made available ii a central location and more recreational space made in their do? ins. BUT HUGHES said some con solidation action will inevitably occu in the future. "I would guess that someday food service will be consolidated on cam pus,". he said. "It's obvious as cost4 continue to escalate there will be soma point to some type of consolidation." Building an underground facility near Mosher-Jordan and combiniri kitchen space in Mosher-Jordan ani Alice Lloyd were among the cor solidation ideas examined and sub sequently rejected by the architect. The task force report estimates that the cost of building a central facili1 without renovating vacated space would be paid back in about six and dfHt half years through savings resultiriP from consolidation. With renovations the payback period would be extended five more years. and other uses. WHEN CONSOLIDATION alter- natives were offered by the firm, Hughes said he didn't have definite plans for action, but agreed with the ar- chitect that the Mosher-Jordan option is the most viable. Student leaders, who for so long op- posed consolidation efforts, have so far expressed more interest in the plan than the Regents. Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor), who was once in the food business, said last spring he would be "cautious "in, considering any consolidation possibility. "BEFORE THAT kind of plan is un- dertaken it would have close scrutiny by the administration .and then by the Regents," he said. "I don't think this one would move rapidly." "Cost savings would have to be dramatic for me to be for it (con- solidation)," said Regent David Laro (R-Flint) when the plan was in- Campus security: Watching over 'U' Studying got you down aria a - (Continued from Page 6) Although drug abuse has fallen off drastically since the early 70's, 1977 statistics do display an increase of over 100 per cent in drug cases from 1976. ACCORDING TO Davids, cases in- volving hard drug use is still declining, but reports of marijuana use have been steadily rising in recent years. Once initial discovery of a crime is made, the contracted guards can at- tempt a citizen's arrest, or call in special security officers, who have police training. There are about 21 employed safety officers, including one fire :marshall and three supervisors. Because one of the biggest safety department concerns is rape, parking lot areas around dorms are patrolled by the department, and the University also offers a special "Nite Owl" bus service, providing late-night transportation in the campus area. ANOTHER trouble area for officers is the perpetually high theft rate in dorm rooms. Davids says it's hard to catch most dormitory robbers, because they walk off only with pocketable items such as wallets, jewelry and money. Invariably, however, applian- ces and stereo equipment turn up missing, too. Property reported stolen from University buildings - most of which beonged to students - amounted to over $185,000 in 1977. Personal property on file as stolen amounted to over $97,000. Compared to other college security systems around the state. MSU, for in- stance, has a special unit of full-fledged private police officers on campus, and Wayne State University has a branch of the Detroit police force devoting full- time attention to crimes on campus. In light of these systems, the University's is often criticized as inefficient and un- wieldy. BUT FOR NOW, there are no plans for change. "We're a little bit bigger than Carter Country, but not quite the scale of Bar- ney Miller," explainedDavids. "But we get the job done," he added. break 1'I N REFRIGERA TOR RENTALS Free Delivery-Free Pick up Low Price-Guaranteed Service (See our ad on page 5) OR Call 7694035NOON-:00 PM --- .U U I VALLEY COACH LINES SpecialStudent Weekend Bus Service Between Ann Arbor and Flint - with stops in Whitmore Lake, Brighton and Fenton Tickets and Bus Schedules available at: S Michigan Union(LU-M)1st-floor * Ann Ahor 0us Station State Sfreet, 662-4431 Coener of E. 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