Special Business
Tuesday, Sept. 1, Executive Director of Hospitality at the College of William and Mary Adam Poling and Chief Business Officer Sean Hughes addressed student frustrations over recent dining changes, specifically the West Woods Dining Hall delay and the transition of the Food Hall at Sadler into a food retail hub.
Hughes and Poling announced new dining and meal plan changes in response to those concerns, which included expanded hours to Marketplace and Sadler, an additional $100 Dining Dollars to every meal plan holder and increased weekly Gold Pass swipes. Gold Passes allow students to exchange a meal swipe for any meal in the Sadler dining hall.
Hughes invited questions from Student Assembly members.
Sen. Tyson Liverman ’27 questioned the reliability of the College’s claim that the West Woods Dining Hall would be completed by the spring 2027 semester.
“This is no shade to you, but will the dining plan really be done next semester?” Liverman said.
Hughes said the administration plans for the dining hall to open for full service at the start of the spring 2027 semester. He said the cafeteria area is complete, but the kitchen and preparation area require repairs and inspections for the refrigerators, walk-in freezers and other equipment.
“I do not believe there will be another push back,” Hughes said. “Of course, I’ve said that for three semesters in a row.”
Sen. Neha Baskar ’29 asked Hughes about how much the West Woods delay has cost the College.
“I’m not trying to avoid your question, there are certain things I can’t talk about at this moment in time,” Hughes said. “The short answer is yes, we know roughly down to the dollar, how much this is costing us.”
I’m not trying to avoid your question, there are certain things I can’t talk about at this moment in time. The short answer is yes, we know roughly down to the dollar, how much this is costing us.
Poling stressed the College’s appreciation for student input and commitment to listening to students’ dining concerns.
He also addressed worries about allergen-friendly options. Some of these include breakfast bags offered by Morning Musings in Sadler and an expanded allergen food station offered at Marketplace.
“[Students] can [also] preorder meals to make sure they have something safe and available for them,” Poling said.
Class of 2029 President Daria Lesmerises ’29 asked Hughes about how long Gold Passes would be available once West Woods opens.
Hughes said he believes the expanded Gold Pass plan will continue until the end of this academic year, similar to other dining changes. Hughes emphasized a data-driven approach for evaluating dining decisions on campus.
“Ideally, we will [open] West Woods and be able to compare a whole semester’s worth of data,” Hughes said.
Sen. Terrence McDuffe ’27 questioned Poling and Hughes about how the College seeks to accommodate students with mobility issues impacted by the dining changes.
Poling said that any students having issues getting around campus should contact Student Accessibility Services to access the mobility shuttle. He also said students unable to go to Commons Dining Hall can request meals to be picked up at Sadler.
New Business
Senators introduced two new pieces of legislation.
The Subsidize Plan B Bill II, sponsored by Sens. Nina Argel ’28 and Mackenna Wyckoff ’28, focuses on providing discounted Plan B resources to students through the College’s Student Health Center.
Sen. Neha Baskar ’29 introduced the First Amendment Series Bill, which she also sponsors. This measure allocates funding for events put on by the SA Department of University Policy & Student Rights for the College’s Year of Civic Leadership. The bill’s proposed events include a banned book raffle and a protest roundtable discussion.
Executive Updates
SA President Nico Giro-Martin ’27 clarified the changes to public safety warnings on campus.
Giro-Martin said Virginia law was recently updated, requiring the College to engage in active public safety updates on campus rather than annual reports.
Friday, Aug. 28, the College informed students by email of two stalking cases. Monday, Aug. 31, the College informed students by email of an incident of sexual assault.
“To my knowledge, some of these events were happening in the past,” Giro-Martin said. “The university wasn’t required to announce as publicly, and now they are following the new law.”
There have been no relevant changes or updated federal guidance related to the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act of 1990. The Clery Act requires all colleges that receive federal financial aid to issue timely warnings to campus communities about crime on and near their institution. The most recent changes were in 2024, requiring institutions to also share hazing incidents and creating hazing transparency guidelines.
CORRECTION (09/08/26): Article was updated by Mona Garimella, Editor-in-Chief, to correct quote attributions.
CLARIFICATION (09/23/26): Questions about accommodations may be directed to Student Accessibility Services (sas@wm.edu), while questions about shuttle operation and schedule should be directed to Parking & Transportation (parked@wm.edu).
CORRECTION (9/28/26): Article was updated by Maddie Mohamadi, Managing Editor, to correct the position of a Student Assembly member.
