Dining

Getting That Bread: Cornell Dining’s Mystery Shopper Program

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For many students with meal plans, the Mystery Shopper Program has been a long-time subject of curiosity. Aiming to recognize outstanding eateries and improve the dining experience, this initiative is real and offers students the dream job: to eat meals at select cafes and dining halls on an hourly wage in addition to reimbursement for the meal. All that’s required is a brief online review preceded by subtle, discrete and unannounced visits to dining units. 

In late February, the opportunity was formally opened to students with a meal plan during Spring of 2024. Now, over a month later, there are 70 total mystery shoppers traveling to 29 different dining units. Started by former Assistant Director Of Staff Training & Development Therese O’Connor, the program has expanded dramatically over the years, helping Cornell maintain its reputation and high rankings, such as having the second “Best Campus Food” per the Princeton Review.

Columns

KANKANHALLI | Not About What’s Next

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The start of every new school year brings with it a rush of emotions: excitement, anticipation, motivation and a slew of other positively-connotated feelings. O-Week rewards us prematurely with waves of blissful ignorance and the chance to bask in ironic nonchalance at a rigorous institution. The shrewd among us manage to reign over Add/Drop so supremely that they might not have a real class for weeks (kudos!). At the advent of Senior Year, though, I find myself grappling with a different set of emotions -— impatience, urgency and agitation prime among them. At the heart of this agitation is the paradox of choice.

Columns

WEISSMANN | Reasonable Doubt

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People think I look young. Usually, I average 15 — 16 on a good day. It’s mortifying in a lot of ways. In compensation, I use big words. I am trying to sound older, but really, I am merely playing at profound.