Sanskriti Gupta, a junior from Missouri, values having a peaceful space on campus to escape from the stress of school.
But as the weather grew colder and more students sat inside San Ignacio Hall during peak lunch hours, Sanskriti walked into the cafeteria and was instantly hit with packed tables and yelling students. She realized it may be near impossible to find a quiet spot to enjoy her lunch.
Sanskirti took her cappuccino and sandwich to the least-busy table she could find.
“It’s an introvert’s worst nightmare,” Gupta said. “I usually like to sit outside and enjoy the weather, but now since it’s colder I have no choice but to sit in the cafeteria.”
This is what lunchtime feels like for many students like Sanskriti. As the enrollment size increases, students are finding that the overcrowding in the cafeteria is ruining their precious break times.
SLU-Madrid set a new record in the Fall 2024 semester with 1,230 students enrolled, marking the largest student body in the campus’s history, said Jamie Ortiz, a university employee. It is a dramatic rise from the 418 students who attended in the fall of 2020. The surge in numbers means more activities and excitement on campus, but it has also brought challenges.
This year’s Thanksgiving Day lunch rush offered a peek at how crowded the dining hall can be. At 2 p.m., the cafeteria was filled with a hum of many voices. The six-chair tables were all filled with students, the occasional professor, couples, friend groups, and soloists typing away at their computers or scrolling through their email. A table of four girls struggled to each fit their filled tray onto their table along with their phones and two large metal water bottles. The line for the Thanksgiving meal wrapped around the cafeteria and extended into the dining area, right next to the shelves with dirty dishes and at least 15 discarded trays.
On another chilly day, Ansley Kendall, a junior study abroad student, walked into the SLU-Madrid lunchroom looking to sit inside with her group of friends, but there was no space. Kendall and her friends sulked to an outside table, bearing the chilly breeze. They enjoyed their hamburgers and salads, keeping coats and scarves on.
“Sometimes when I don’t want to sit outside, I’m forced to because I don’t want to eat with random people,” said Kendall.
Lena Webber, a permanent student who is completing her third year on Madrid’s campus, notices the toll on the cafeteria staff.
“When I walked into the cafeteria, I could see it on their faces, and there’s only like five of them,” she said. She feels bad, and she said she is sure to treat the staff with extra care.
The cafeteria isn’t the only spot on campus that is facing the effects of overcrowding.
Henry Hubbard, a junior visiting from Wake Forest, said the crowds of smokers on the sidewalk in between classes is growing rather large for the limited space. Once when he was rushing by the large crowd on his way to class, a smoker flicked ash all over his shirt.
“My shirt was ruined,” said Hubbard. “I was like, so pissed when I looked down to see the stain rubbed into my new white shirt.”
Celia Ribone, a 21-year-old junior from Italy, said crowding also affects the library. Once during finals, Ribone was hunkered down studying for her communication exam, but after finding one of the few spots left, she could not focus because there were students – she believes they were study-abroads – who were causing a ruckus.
“During finals, the library is so so loud, I remember I even had to tell the librarian to tell them to shut up, they were yelling,” she said. “It’s really annoying. I was so mad.”
