It’s lunchtime, you’re hungry, class is in 25 minutes and your residence hall is across campus. There is only one residence hall directly on campus, but you cannot eat there because you do not live there.

Laurie Brabec, a sophomore art education major who lived in Neptune North, knows this situation well.

“One time, last year it was really hard for my boyfriend and I to go to lunch, because my card was not working,” Brabec said. “Since he lived in Lincoln, he couldn’t use his card to swipe us in for lunch, but we had a limited time for lunch, so we couldn’t go anywhere else and therefore couldn’t eat lunch.”

The main reason certain dining halls are open to certain students is because of spacing issues.

“Neptune is centrally located, which means if [the Neptune staff] allowed other residence halls to dine here, there could be an influx of up to 300 to 400 people,” said Carole Swanson, kitchen helper and checker. “It would make our jobs impossible.”

If Housing and Dining were to allow other students to eat lunch at Neptune, there would not be enough food or places to sit. The amount of food prepared on a day-to-day basis is based on previous “head counts,” which help the staff prepare the amount of food needed.

“If other students were allowed to dine in Neptune’s cafeteria, the staff could not possibly plan for that amount of people,” said Michael Stang, director of residential operations in Housing and Dining.

Housing and Dining is not losing any money by not allowing other students into the cafeteria.

The Neptune Trident, located in Neptune Central, is open for all students and accepts dining dollars. The Trident is a small shop offering sandwiches, soups, cakes, cookies, assorted fresh fruit, drinks and a variety of baked goods.

“The Trident is designed to be a ‘grab and go'” Stang said. “Therefore, Neptune is not entirely closed off to non-Neptune or Douglas students.”

A “grab and go” is designed for students on the run and is not meant to be used as a dine-in facility.