Restaurant-worthy dining, at Commons?

Restaurant nights, themed culinary dinners and visits from Philadelphia chefs are all on the menu this month.

Despite mixed student opinions about previous marketing initiatives, Penn Dining has revealed a new series of programs designed to generate student interest in meal plans.

Starting next Tuesday, Penn Dining will hold thematic Creative Cuisine Nights, which will include Barbecue Night at 1920 Commons on Mondays and Italian food at Hill College House on Tuesdays.

Other changes include monthly visits from local Philadelphia chefs to campus dining locations. Also, beginning Jan. 18, Penn will hold "Restaurant Nights" every Thursday, where students will have the opportunity to participate in a higher-end dining experience with table service and possibly music, said Martin.

Although last year the number of sophomores staying on meal plans increased by 2 percent, the new events will increase participation in campus dining even more, said Jenn Martin, marketing program manager for Aramark, the company that manages Penn's Dining services.

For many students, however, Penn Dining programs - and these public relations efforts - don't quite cut it.

"Penn Dining is pretty mediocre," said Wharton freshman Simon Li. "They should be more focused on consistently providing good food."

They don't really publicize the new programs very well, so I really don't care."

Still, Penn Dining officials say that these events will not detract from the quality of their food.

"We still focus on the main issues like cuisine choices and customer service, but interesting events and variety are all apart of the dining experience," said Laurie Cousart, director of the Penn Dining Division of Business Services.

Previous efforts to increase student participation include the JAM rewards program, which rewards students for continued participation in campus meal plans.

4,200 students are enrolled in JAM Rewards, Martin said, but she did not know how many students had actually redeemed their points for gifts.

The newer initiatives seem to be generating a more positive response among students.

"I was pretty disappointed with the JAM program because there was no incentive to get points," College sophomore Andrew Williams said. "The Cuisine night sounds like it would bring more variety, which makes dining less boring."

For some students however, the Cuisine Nights seemed like just another gimmick.

"Quite honestly, it's not worth it," said Wharton and Engineering senior Lucy Zhang. "There are so many choices off-campus that simply more food variety wouldn't persuade me to buy a meal plan."

Rhea Lewis, Business Services spokeswoman, said the costs of the new programs would prove to be minimal, but she could not provide an exact number.

"We already have separate funds allocated for marketing," she said. "Many of our events are very low-cost. We're simply presenting the stuff we have in a better way."

Penn Dining has revamped its Web site and sends out e-mails to better inform students about upcoming events, Lewis said.

Along with the freshman class, 2,138 upperclassmen undergraduates were on meal plans last year.

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