Come Fall 2009, students may see changes in the University's Merchants on Points program ranging from more late night delivery options to the addition and elimination of different off-campus vendors.
To date, the number of vendors in the program operating during peak student delivery hours, 12-2 a.m., is minimal, said Jim Wulforst, Director of Duke Dining Services. I Love Manhattan Pizza, Domino's Pizza, Jimmy John's and Papa John's Pizza currently deliver during those hours.
"The purpose of the program was to take care of students after our dining options on campus were closed or limited." Wulforst said. "And that's where the program started back in 1985. But in the last few years merchants that want to be in the program want to be in it from 6 to 8 [p.m.] I don't need that."
He noted that he and other administrators are concerned about the program's effects on health and the dining experience for students.
"There's talk of eliminating the Merchants on Points program," Wulforst told The Chronicle in September. "If you order a pizza and have it delivered to your room, there's no dining experience there. Is it really healthy to eat at 2 o'clock in the morning? But if you didn't have a Merchants on Points program, would get it delivered?"
He later said, however, that administrators had simply discussed nixing the program and that they are not planning to follow through with those plans. He added that if there is going to be a shift in the program in the future, it will be to require merchants to extend their hours.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said he and Steve Nowicki, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, in conversations with Wulforst, have been weighing the merits of the program and whether it contributes to an inclusive dining experience on campus as suggested by the Campus Culture Initiative.
"[We're] just wanting to be sure that it isn't promoting solitary and non-nutritious dining," Moneta wrote in an e-mail. "If... most is done in groups and with some sense of community dining, then it's a useful component of dining at Duke."
Wulforst noted that numbers from Dining Services indicate that most students do order from the program in groups.
Many students said ordering Merchants on Points is a convenient option during exams and on busy nights, and several also cited late-night eating as a reason why they value the program. Sophomore Angela Cai said she orders in two or three times a week because she gets back to her room during the middle of the night and feels like she has already exhausted on-campus options.
"Late at night, the Great Hall is not open, The Loop is not open. Should we starve? Please," sophomore Ege Kurtulus said. "Sometimes you just don't like the food in the Great Hall and it's nice to have options and variety."
In upcoming months, the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, which works closely with the Dining Services to oversee the Merchants on Points program, plans to initiate a discussion with merchants about setting specific delivery-hour expectations and parameters. DUSDAC is also beginning to explore adding more diverse and healthy vendors to the program, like TGI Friday's and Chai's Noodle Bar & Bistro.
"My goal for next year is to have the program revamped," said DUSDAC Co-chair Jason Taylor, a junior. "So, students come in and have a new Merchants on Points, which may mean a few old places are gone and a few new ones come on like TGI Fridays and Chai's."
But requiring merchants to extend hours may be difficult for businesses that do not operate solely as corporate take-out restaurants. Bill Whelan, manager of Spartacus Restaurant, said extending hours leads to increased staffing costs that may not be absorbed by student demand.
Merchants who operate late-night have also expressed the challenges of trying to meet and gauge student interest.
"There is some frustration associated with it because sometimes you over-staff and you don't get anything, and then sometimes you under-staff and you get a lot of orders," said Omer Essader, manager of I Love Manhattan Pizza. "But if we can find the patterns, it shouldn't be a problem."
As the program is reevaluated, administrators said they hope to improve it in a way that makes it the best fit with students' other dining options.
"Overall, our objective is to find a good balance between retail, on the go, delivered, wait service and marche dining options to both meet student consumer preferences [while] encouraging 'family' meals, great camaraderie and dialogue through these various dining alternatives," Moneta said.
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