Don't judge book by cover

The Sam Rayburn Student Center is an extravagant building full of gadgets and attractions. But is it really all that useful or effective?

True, the new food in the cafeteria is of a higher quality (thumbs up on the bread sticks), but the cafeteria is much smaller.

This seemingly makes long lunch lines seem infinite.

Plasma screens dot the walls while students have to cram around small, round tables or push them together.

Have you ever tried eating at the cafeteria with ten people around a few tables pushed together?

It isn't very user friendly and it is oftentimes difficult to communicate with others due to the odd arrangement of seating.

If the SRSC is really supposed to be a hangout, then why do the tables seat four students, maximum?

The long tables at the old cafeteria were great for large groups of students.

If you ever wanted to push some rectangular tables together, it was a simple thing to do.

"I eat there twice a day, and it's hit or miss," Andrew Dahir, a freshman in Honors College, said.

"The food is of better quality, but the seating arrangement is worse.

The layout is the same- everything is easily accessible.

The building is conveniently located because it's positioned in more of a central location on campus."

Initially, carryout was an issue.

Last semester, students were allowed to come grab a takeout box, fill it with food, fill up a drink and exit.

The whole process usually took about five to ten minutes.

When the cafeteria first opened, students with meal plans couldn't use carryout unless they demonstrated a scheduling conflict.

Hello! They're college students. They all have scheduling conflicts.

They're all rushing in between class and work and homework.

This isn't a time to nickel and dime students that have already paid for their meals.

Thankfully, a change in policy has since been implemented that has made taking carryouts much easier.

The policy is similar to the policy that was implemented last year.

Students with meal plans can choose between eating in or carryout (those with unlimited plans have to choose one or the other).

"We average about 500 carryout meals a week," said John Offerle, general manager of the Campus Dining Service, said.

The new takeout program is different than last year's.

Instead of using the carryout box that was available last semester, students must now use plates with dome lids for their takeout meals from now on.

True Einstein Bros. Bagels serves very good food.

But it's also expensive and not a viable option for lunch everyday for most students.

Most full meals (sandwich and drink) cost between $8 and $11.

It is rumored that the Club was initially going to be an overflow room for when the cafeteria filled up, but that has yet to come to fruition.Whether this is true or not remains to be verified, but it is a good option nevertheless.

In the end, the quality food and service has increased at the SRSC.

But are these positive enough to overcome the architectural drawbacks?