Students in Service and Leadership at HarvardMain MenuAbout this Scalar online bookAbout the course: SOCIOL1130 Student Leadership and Service in Higher EducationVolume 6: 2023 Student ProjectsVolume 5: 2022 Student ProjectsVolume 4: 2021 Student ProjectsVolume 3: 2020 Student ProjectsVolume 2: 2019 Student ProjectsVolume 1: 2018 Student ProjectsDepartment of Sociology and Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
12019-04-17T00:40:30-04:00Dunster Grille - Community Priorities1plain2019-04-30T13:32:58-04:00As essential as employee morale is to the grille's functioning, customer opinions (especially Dunster student opinions) on the grille are the most important gauge of the grille's success, especially when considering the administrative motivations behind having grilles in the first place. Rather than focusing on specific grille procedures, the survey I distributed in April had a broad scope, measuring success metrics of the grille such as how often students come, whether they come with other people, and how important the grille is for the Dunster community. I sent out the survey to Dunster House students, offering a chance at free grille food. With 74 responses, it is possible to sketch out some patterns in public opinion on the grille. As shown above, the vast majority of Dunster students feel comfortable at the grille and believe that the grille is important for the Dunster community. Interestingly, while the community largely prefers for our weekend hours to stay the same, over 40% of students would prefer the grille to be open earlier on weekdays. I expect that many athletes are in this camp, especially if they have morning practices and try to get to sleep early. With this data, we can clearly see that community perceptions of the grille are very positive, with a clear majority viewing the grille positively and over 60% of respondents visiting the grille at least once a week. The grille seems to be accomplishing its goals of fostering community and serving as a social space, as a majority of students come to the grille with other people. Community demand for grille food more generally is also high; 72% of respondents wanted grille food at HoCo events, 68% wanted grille food at their Tutor study breaks, and 52% wanted grille food at their student organization's events.
One question intended to gauge the impact of increased grille closures seemed to indicate that what mattered more than staying open 7 days a week was having a consistent schedule. The uncertainty of the grille being open was very unpopular, and 53% said it was "very important" for the grille to have a consistent schedule compared to 20% who said it was "very important" for the grille to be open 7 days a week.
Survey responses covered all entryways in Dunster and all class years with a slight bias toward seniors. Differences between DeWolfe and Dunster proper students were minimal, as were differences between class years.