On March 17, the Islander Dining Hall put on a Spring Broke Staycation Style in honor of spring break being canceled due to the pandemic with COVID-19.

Originally when the university made the action to cancel spring break this year, they pushed back classes for another week during winter break before the spring semester started. However, this year the university gave everyone the day off from classes for St. Patrick’s Day.

During the event students entered the dining hall and were greeted with a setup of an 80’s beach theme in areas where they could get their food. Students were able to eat fajitas, hotdogs, cheese enchiladas, Spanish rice, grilled elote, frozen slushies and much more. They also had the opportunity to play lawn games outside or the corn hole that was placed inside.

To enter the event students had to get in with their meal swipes or pay the lunch hour fee right at the door. The dining hall had the capacity to allow students in the dining area to enjoy the food with their friends.

Beth Alford, Marketing Manager for Islander Dining, mentioned she hopes students had fun with the cookout and the frozen drinks. “I hope they enjoy some good food and company with their friends,” said Alford, “It’s another day of service for us so it doesn’t make a big difference. We’re here to serve our students… and I hope they take a break from the middle of the week and enjoy the one day they get for spring break.”

Elena Erhardt, senior in nursing, attended the event with her friends and enjoyed her sandwich wrap along with a frozen drink. Erhardt mentioned she liked the idea of having the day off for the week so she could stay inside and sleep for the rest of her day. “Honestly I’m really sad about not having a spring break this year,” said Erhardt, “I understand with COVID and all that with starting school late. I guess it’s best for us to stay healthy and not catch COVID by partying out at the beach. The food was really good. I got to play some games and talking with everyone around me was really fun.”

For more information on the events that the Islander Dining Hall hosts, stay tuned on their I-engage page and their social media for additional content that they have to offer.