A dorm away from home

The Hoff Student Dining Hall and the still unnamed new dorm have made their marks on Xavier's campus as they welcomed Manresa leaders, athletes and early arrival sophomore students into the complex for the first time.

"Women's soccer came through last Thursday and they seemed to really enjoy it," Clint Kernen, Marketing Manager of Xavier Dining, said. "It's always fun to see the oohs and ahhs as people walk through, especially when they get really excited about the new Coca-Cola Freestyle machines and bubbly crust pizza. Everyone seems really happy."

The University has designated the new dining complex to retain the Jesuit namesake of its predecessor, Hoff Marketplace. However, Ryan Alleman, senior Student Government Association (SGA) president, and Dave Johnson, executive director for the Center for Faith and Justice, are still in the process of naming the new building, working corroboratively to select a name that exemplifies Xavier's Jesuit ideals.

"We want to engage students, faculty and staff in the process of naming the three entities of campus," Dave Johnson said. "First, the combined greenspace from the new building and in front of Gallagher. Second, the new residential complex. And third, the mezzanine inside the new complex."

In addition, each tower of the new dorm is being sold for naming rights. Currently, these names have not been solidified.

Hoff Student Dining Hall, in hopes to accommodate the increasingly large freshman class sizes, seats 700 students, an increase from 400 in the Hoff Marketplace. Seats range from traditional square tables, to booth seats, as well as high top tables for quick meals and lounge spaces for quiet studying.

This increased capacity has allowed Xavier Dining to provide enough food and space for most on-campus students to dine at the same time, making the Meal Xchange program nearly obsolete.

"The Meal Xchange program was created to eliminate over-crowding in the Hoff Marketplace during peak meal periods," Tom Barlow, Director of Auxiliary Services, said in a press release. "As the new Hoff Student Dining Hall has capacity to seat nearly twice as many guests, we do not expect over-crowding to be a problem."