Ernie Davis Dining Center, which opened Saturday, is now the newest and largest dining facility on campus, but it’s still just a dining center. It might have more food options than Sadler or Brockway dining centers, but the food remains mostly mediocre. If you have not yet experienced its twisting maze of hot food, salad bars and stir-fry lines, just picture any other dining center on campus you’ve been to and the idea is the same.

Ernie Davis Dining Center’s location is convenient for students living in Booth, DellPlain, Haven, Watson halls or on Comstock Avenue, and the proximity to many classroom buildings is especially appreciated during the cold winter months, but I don’t think it’s worth the trek if you’re near another dining center.

‘I was expecting the food to be better or different, but it’s all just the same,’ Melissa Weston, a sophomore public relations and political science major said. Ernie Davis boasts a seating capacity of 500 people, but at the dinnertime rush hour, it’s still impossible to find a clean empty seat. With Shaw closing earlier and Haven no longer open, the extra space Ernie Davis offers gets eaten up quickly by hungry students. Though well staffed, the center still runs out of trays, forks and food, just like any other dining center.

I visited Ernie after class Tuesday night and found it cramped with people. I kept losing my friend, even though he’s 6 feet 6 inches and normally pretty hard to miss in a crowd. For 10 minutes I wandered around the buffet labyrinth hoping to find something especially appetizing, but I was disappointed to find the same slop I ate all freshman year. The new neon green booths looked comfortable, but they were all filled. I wound up teetering on a flimsy orange stool that looked like it might break if I ate one more of my mystery Chinese chicken nuggets. I’m sure the food at Ernie Davis’ salad bar, wrap station and Edy’s ice cream machine tastes just great, but the Thanksgiving stuffing still closely resembles vomit.

Overall, I think Ernie Davis Dining Center is a good addition to campus, giving students a new option that is, for many, closer than any other dining center. Its ability to house so many students is a major plus at such a large school, and the additional staff seems to be working hard to keep the center clean. I’m sure it will look nice when renovations and decorations are completed. Still, expectations of a gourmet meal in a cozy, relaxed environment are unrealistic. I didn’t hate my dinner at Ernie and there’s a chance I will stop in again, but I’m glad I don’t have a meal plan.

Courtney Egelston is a junior magazine journalism and political science major. Her column appears weekly and she can be reached at cbegelst@syr.edu.