Crowded Hickey Dining Hall during common hour on Nov. 12, 2025
Photo courtesy of Chris Doody
BY: CHRIS DOODY, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND LILY PETERSON, STAFF WRITER
Enrollment at St. Bonaventure University has steadily increased 20% yearly since 2020; however, infrastructure has not seen many changes to adapt for the increased student body.
A recent Yik Yak poll asked Bonaventure students if they felt the Hickey Dining Hall was overcrowded: 256 students voted “yes, it’s too crowded,” while 38 voted “no, it’s fine.”
Thomas Missel, chief communications officer at Bonaventure, declined to comment as of Nov. 12.
“Common hour lunch and 5-6 p.m. is always extremely crowded in the Hickey,” said Lexia Mallette, a sophomore communications, social justice and advocacy major. “The lines are very long. I got here at 12:20; it’s 12:37 and the lines have not moved at all.”
Common hour is a designated time in which no classes take place from 12:20-1:30 for students on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; many take this as an opportunity to get a quick lunch in the Hickey before between classes. Overcrowding makes this task difficult, and students are forced to go to class “hangry.”
“You can’t even walk through to look at the food,” said Courtney Westfall, a sophomore triple cert education major. “I am always late; I have to eat something that I don’t like so I can get to class on time, or I leave hangry.”
“I think people should sit down in the Skellar,” said Mallette, referring to the Rathskellar, the eating area below the Hickey that is known for late-night meal swipes.
Seating in the Rathskellar remains open to students all day, according to a sign in the Hickey that states “Additional seating available downstairs in the Rathskellar; kindly return your dishes upstairs.”
Sign in the Hickey Dining Hall
Photo courtesy of Chris Doody
Some students say finding seating during common hour and dinner in the Hickey is extremely competitive.
“It’s nutso,” said Nellie Kopta, junior public health major. “I get done early with classes and have to manage to get a table for my friends.”
A number of students are not only frustrated by the limited seating inside but also by the long wait times to swipe in for meals at the Hickey.
“It takes forever just to get into the Hickey,” said Alanna Riesenberger, sophomore biology major. “You have to stand forever inside the wind tunnel at the Hickey west entrance. Then, once you finally get inside, you can’t even find a table– and if you do, it takes even longer to get food.”
