We asked the dining hall servers about the weirdest things they’ve experienced

Ithaca College students are known for the number of crazy, creative, quirky students. I decided to find out how creative the students can be with their choice of food in the dining halls.

Campus Center Dining Hall

To many IC students Campus Center Dining Hall can be the worst dining hall or the best. Most of the times it’s just the most convenient one. However, having said that, the servers get a lot of people and Tuesdays and Thursdays around noon is the most hectic time.

“The weirdest sandwich was a wrap with humus AND tuna with tomatoes, lettuce, and banana peppers. Also, sometimes people wait in the long deli lines just to order half a sandwich with one piece of cheese on it… that’s it.”

To some people simplicity may be what they prefer, like the student who asked Courtney* for “spinach wrapped in a spinach wrap.”

When I say dining hall servers see us at our worst, I do not exaggerate, just ask Hayley: “One day this guy came in stoned out of his mind and asked me to put a scoop of tuna fish in the palm of his hand. Like directly in his hand. I did it, and he walked away licking it.”

This isn’t the first encounter Hayley has had with hummus lovers: “One time a guy had me put eight scoops of hummus in a wrap, with nothing else, then toast it.”

Sub Connection

Alicia has been working at Sub Connection since September 2015. Sub Connect is open till 1am every day, which means this place is full of people trying to recover from their night by purchasing food and drink. Alicia and the other servers, have seen things during these hours…strange things.

When I asked Alicia what the weirdest thing she’s seen at Sub Connect was her response was quick: “Once there was a girl who asked for a sub with chicken and hot sauce. But while I was adding the hot sauce, she kept on asking for more. By the time she decided it was enough, you couldn’t see the chicken and most of the bread. I have no idea how she ate that much hot sauce…

“Sometimes people would just ask for a sub and they would say buffalo ranch chicken, which is fine. Normal sub. Then they would say, oh but like without the onions, tomatoes, salads and the cheese. Basically, I would be making a sub with just chicken and hot sauce. She could’ve just said that.”

For some of the servers like Colleen, it’s not the strange requests that bother them, but the combination that come on their sandwiches.

“The weirdest sub I was asked to make was a six inch flatbread with double meatballs, no cheese, no veggies and mayo, baja, ranch, hot and blue cheese.”

Terraces Dining Hall

The terraces dining hall seems to be IC’s favorite dining hall. College can be hard, and sometimes when you’re at the verge of breaking down dining halls servers have to see you at your worst.

“Once a student asked me to toast her deli wrap. I reminded her that at Terraces there is no oven. She didn’t move. While I was wrapping her sandwich she yelled at me to toast it. I told her again there was no oven. She then proceeded to yell at me about how life was unfair, she left the line… didn’t even take her sandwich.”

Another server said, “I saw a guy walk up to the soda machine and add a bit of every soda possible.”

James works the morning shifts, and seeing people eat unusual things for lunch isn’t new, but this was one of the strangest things he’s seen: “I was working at the Ice-cream stand, and a student asked me for an Ice cream cone filled with just toppings… nothing else.”

Towers Dining Hall

While Towers is quite a walk away for some students, the long walk and the numerous stairs are often times worth it.

For Dylan, serving burgers is no big deal and pretty simple but recently someone approached him and he “was asked to prepare three chicken patties, with no bun, but the student had asked me to cut the patties in half and then add one slice of American Cheese to each half.”

Another server said she “saw someone add ice to their cereal.”

Late Night (at Towers Dining Hall)

Each night from Monday to Thursday, Towers Dining Hall is open from 9pm-1am. Each night is a new theme. Monday nights are Breakfast Foods, Tuesday nights are Taco Tuesday, Wednesday is pizza, and Thursday is Southern Comfort Food.

Sometimes the servers have time to observe what is going on in the dining halls. “I saw someone take some cereal, then add mac and cheese on top of it.”

“The weirdest thing I’ve seen? Someone take a banana mash, it up in a bowl, and add Sriracha sauce to it and eat French fries on the side.”

IC students – you do you. IC dining hall servers, good luck! With finals nearing the the weirdest cravings will hit, and the number of students showing up to dining halls will increase, it’s going to be a hectic few weeks… may the odds be ever in your favor.

*names of servers have been change to protect their anonymity.