Students who have studied abroad during their time at Wofford have come back to the states as changed people with dramatically changed instagrams. Many students miss their time abroad and want to bring parts of their experiences back to Wofford.
The Office of International Programs heard these students’ calls, and have been working tirelessly behind the scenes in order to create an abroad experience right here at Wofford. Finally, they think they might have the solution.
“One of the aspects of study abroad that many students are not able to receive here stateside is dining experiences that are similar to those over in many European countries, and we thought that creating an experience like that would make many students happy,” Amy Lancaster, Dean of International Programs, said.
Zach’s has accepted the invitation to partner with the Office of International Programs to create a European style dining experience for all students, including an updated menu to bring in the best foods from around the world and a designated smoking section.
To encourage dining such as the Europeans do, there will also be many beverages on tap for those who are of drinking age as well as many brands of cigarettes, which should help students move away from their vapes.
Many students who have studied abroad in the past are excited to see these plans implemented in Zach’s, including Guy Ferrari, ‘25, glad to have a reminder of their life-changing experiences abroad.
“Yeah, I’m excited that this school is finally seeing the ways that the food on campus needs to change and that it’s going more towards what I got used to abroad, though it is a tad bit unfortunate that it’s Zach’s that’s changing and not some of the other on campus food options,” Ferrari said.
In addition to changing Zach’s to euro-style dining, Campus Union has made another proposal to aid students in really feeling the abroad experience here at Wofford: a two hour lunch break every day of the week.
Campus Union believes that lengthening the lunch break for students and faculty will both add towards the eurostyle dining in Zachs and will add to the productivity and happiness of the Wofford community.
Many European countries use lunch as a meal not only to socialize but also to take a break during the day and have a siesta. With this in mind, Campus Union has also announced that athletic teams are no longer able to practice during these long lunch breaks, to allow them time to relax and get much needed sleep.
“It will be nice to be able to catch up on some sleep during these lunch breaks, especially since we have long ones everyday now. This change to Zach’s will also give me a taste of what it would be like to study abroad since I can’t as an athlete,” Stephanie Curry, ‘26, said.
One aspect of this new style of dining on campus that has not been determined yet is how service for the dinning will work, whether it carry over the grab-and-go aspect of Zachs or if it will be a sit down dining option, making it the first of its kind on campus.
Whatever the service will look like, Zach’s will make sure that students get only the finest experience that most closely resembles that in Europe, a one-of-a-kind college dining experience.
