No. 3: How to make the most of your meal plan

In your high school cafeteria, the meatballs bounced, the hot dogs bent in half without breaking, and the ingredients of the chicken fries were unknown. For those starving students who were unable to eat these culinary concoctions, the University of New Hampshire's dining plans will seem like food heaven, where a student can choose to eat whatever they want without fear of sickness. However, there are a few vital pieces of advice you should heed before delving into the worlds of the silver, gold, and platinum plus dining diets.

While these shiny meal plans do provide unlimited access to the three dining halls on campus, Holloway Commons, ("HoCo"), Philbrook, ("Philly"), and Stillings, (…"Stillings"), it is a bad idea to take this to heart. Many students will complain about the supposed laxatives in the food, but this rumor is just an urban legend. Often, the real problem that students face, and a common mistake of new dining hall users, lies in their diet change. Unfortunately, your body won't be as happy as you are about the unlimited availability of chicken nuggets, burgers, ice cream, and pizza. Especially if it is not accustomed to consuming all of these items in a single meal. If this scenario is the case, your body will demonstrate its discomfort through increased trips to the bathroom.

Many new plan holders may also become overwhelmed with the number of options available in the dining hall. However, these students should not fear; there will be many more opportunities to eat these choices. Therefore, for the sake of yourselves, don't make the crowd behind you angry because you can't decide between stuffed shells and macaroni and cheese: take your pick and move on.

Another amateur mistake in UNH Dining World is made daily and often causes students to walk around lost and perhaps confused. These students scoured and scrambled to collect their food as soon as they walked in, only to realize immediately after their tray is full that they lost the people that they entered the hall with. Due to the volume of people and food, cell phones are good to have in the annoying and sometimes embarrassing situation of losing your dinner dates. The best method, however, is to make a game plan beforehand entering the dining hall and pick a place to meet, (upstairs, next to the salad bar, etc.), after everyone gets their food. Not only will this solution save you from the awkward situation of balancing your tray and your dignity, it will also prevent you from placing your cell phone somewhere you may regret, like on your tray and consequently, in the dining hall dish room. (If by chance your cell phone is left on your tray, there are very nice people on staff who might leave it at the front desk if it is found.)

While it's perfectly normal to want to sit with friends all the time, it is also difficult to schedule exams, sports practices, or club meetings (if these are a part of your weekly schedule) around breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This being said, it is okay to eat alone; in fact, it might even be preferable if you or a friend tends to act grumpy before morning coffee.

Also, students in a hurry should invest in a UNH dining mug, as they are the only container allowed in the dining hall that can be used by students to take drinks from the hall. Plan holders are also allowed to leave with one piece of fruit and one dessert, like a brownie or cookie, per visit. If you try to bend this rule, you might get caught by the dining hall staff and forced to pay a $25 fine.

Another piece of the dining hall adventure to keep in mind is timing. Timing is important if you don't like standing in long lines or creepily waiting by tables for their occupants to finish. All three dining halls are busiest from 9-11 a.m., 12-2 p.m., and 5-8 p.m. While it's normally not a problem getting food or finding seats, the lines for omelets, stir-fry, and sizzle station tend to be longest during these times.

There are special dining hall days that will be consistently busy throughout these times, but this should not deter you from experiencing them. One of these dining hall days, Local Harvest Feast, is a highlight for many plan holders. At this meal, each dining hall prepares food with fresh, locally grown produce. Another highlight is Thanksgiving, which has been described as legendary. Don't skip these dinners for microwave Easy Mac in your room just because the halls will be busy. Dining puts together special meals for most major holidays as well. It's not a bad idea to arrive earlier so you don't miss out on a piece (or five) of apple crisp.

If for some reason you decide that you just can't stand UNH Dining—you hate the food, you hate the plates, you hate the fry station, sizzle grill, salad bar and cereal bar—just make sure to survive until the end of the week when you can dig in to a delicious weekend sundae. One day a week, Saturdays at Holloway, Sundays at Philbrook, and Mondays at Stillings, you can indulge in a homemade sundae, or seven, if your stomach can take it.

So, as you venture into a year of daily dining hall visits, keep these tips in mind and you will be sure to not lose your sanity, (or cell phone), and enjoy some good food along the way.