After we found a fly in the fruit salad, we don’t know why you’d even want to swipe in.

Ferris has tried taking measures in the past to prevent people from sneaking in, but now they’re cracking down. Ferris recently instilled a new process in which students must sign out with the desk attendant in order to leave and sign back in to re-enter instead of just leaving their IDs at the front desk.

After typing up a rant, which you can read below, I decided to reach out to Columbia Dining about the new, what I called, policy, and this was the statement I was given on behalf of Columbia Dining:

There is no change to the policy. Students can still leave and return to Ferris during the same meal period. The process has been adjusted to reduce the risk of losing IDs and make the process more efficient for the staff at the register. Rather than leave their ID if they intend to return, a student simply signs a log at the register.

As this new process logistically makes sense, when I was at Ferris today, it was not executed so simply. The commotion of the desk attendant tracking students down who were unaware of the process-change held up the growing line of people trying to swipe in.

Ferris has always been my #1. The same options every day (usually) never get old, and the homey nature of roaming in and out in the past has made it a hub for meeting new friends, feeding broke friends, and having ten course meals in the piano lounge while cramming for assignments. Honestly, it was just convenient to be able to grab a salad, put it on a seat by the outlets outside, go back in, get my coffee, come back, get a spoon…

But now that Ferris has changed its “process,” my experience won’t be the same. Your experience won’t be the same. (Unless you always ate inside Ferris and never had to go to the bathroom, which means that your only burden will be hearing a little extra yelling.)

We’re telling you because they won’t – not until they’re yelling at you for trying to navigate the lengthened barrier to re-enter Ferris to get another napkin without checking in with the desk attendant first. Was there a sign about this change in policy? No. Was there an e-mail to the whole university about this drastic change in such a crucial part some of our daily lives? No. Ferris has become the teacher who yells at you for not following a direction that was in fine print in their new syllabus, except Ferris forgot to give us the new syllabus.

To get more internal screaming during this finals season, just try to waddle back into Ferris to get the coffee you rightfully deserve with your overpriced meal swipe. Have fun trying to prove your identity on a clipboard to get the napkin that wasn’t provided for you at the outlet seating!

Ferris’s new sign-in system has just about as much freedom as the Barnard dorm sign-in system. Oh, and the berries are still just for show.