Students flocked to the dining halls of Stevenson Towers and Neptune Hall Wednesday night as “Greek Day” overtook NIU.

The dining facilities in Douglas and Lincoln halls and Grant Towers were closed during the dinner hours to encourage students to attend the Greek Carnival on Greek Row.

Although some students felt it was a pain to walk to a different hall to find food, others thought it was a great opportunity to walk across campus and get involved in activities at NIU.

“There are still other halls open for food services,” said Olivia Gabrys, a freshman psychology major. “This is a great opportunity to get more involved and learn more about Greek life for those that are interested.”

However, many students were not thrilled to find they had to eat elsewhere, such as at another dining hall or on Greek Row.

“It’s unfair because its forcing people to go somewhere they don’t want to go for dinner,” said Whitney Poggioli, a freshman nursing major.

Poggioli and her friends from Douglas Hall made the walk to Stevenson Towers instead of walking downstairs for the traditional hall dining.

Students found the closing of several dining facilities caused confusion and frustration, especially for those that weren’t interested in Greek life and found the closings unfair.

“NIU shouldn’t force us to participate in sorority or fraternity activities by closing down residence hall dining and forcing us to walk or go to Greek Row to eat,” said Lindsay Bennett, a freshman pre-med major and Douglas Hall resident. “It’s nice if you want to get involved with those kinds of things, but I don’t want to get involved in that so I shouldn’t have to suffer.”

Others agreed.

“Just because some people aren’t interested in Greek life doesn’t mean they should have to walk to get their food,” said Carey Harbison, a sophomore family consumer nutrition studies major and a Lincoln Hall resident. Other frustrations throughout the night included waiting in long lines and difficulties finding tables. Some students were forced to wait in line for more than 10 minutes. The staff soon found students getting frustrated with the long lines and opened additional cash registers and exits to avoid congestion.