Dining for students, faculty and staff during the start of the Fall 2020 semester at The University of Texas at Arlington will look a little different because of social distancing requirements instituted by health agencies.
The University has changed tables and seating in its dining areas to meet state requirements. Floor plans in Maverick Café and Connection Café now allow for proper spacing. In the University Center, Bluebonnet Ballroom will serve as overflow seating for the Connection Café, while Palo Duro will offer more seating for the Plaza.
"These requirements could change depending on what happens and where we are concerning the coronavirus," said David Albart, director of the University Center. "As a University, we have to be nimble to match up our dining with the requirements adopted at the federal, state and local levels."
Patrons should not rearrange or relocate tables and chairs, which will be positioned to encourage compliance with social distancing. In addition, self-serve areas like the salad bar, drinks, deserts, grill and pizza stations will no longer be self-service.
Grab-and-go dining options will be available. In addition, Grubhub is partnering with Dining Services to offer campus mobile ordering with pick-up stations at the various dining venues.
Dining Services is working to provide creative solutions to ensure students receive fast service while also keeping safety measures in place.
Dining staff may limit the amount of time students are in a dining hall or make other operational adjustments to address health and safety concerns. They will also clean dining areas throughout the day. Students also will be given sanitizing wipes to keep their tables and other surfaces clean.
"We all need to do our part to keep dining areas clean," Albart said.
Meal plan rates will remain unchanged for fall 2020. Check the Maverick Dining website for all on-campus retail dining options and their updated hours of operation.
"Our goal is to get everyone fed and keep them safe while they're dining at UTA," Albart said.
Check the Mavs Back 2020 site for more stories on what to expect as UTA safely returns to campus for fall 2020. You also can check the Coronavirus and Fall 2020 Semester page, which is UTA's official site for up-to-date information on campus operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
