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T his September Pepperdine unveiled the new incarnation of its dining hall. Christened the Waves Cafe, the new cafeteria boasts such improvements as a declining balance, an a la carte meal plan, a completely revamped food selection area and a variety of new meals.

Clearly, the Waves Cafe is an interesting blend of the new and the old. And with those new and old features comes a whole new realm of pros, cons and possibilities.

Before this year, students who were not on the meal plan had to pay in cash to eat at the dining hall. Meals had fixed prices — $6 for dinner — and non-meal-plan students had to pay that amount simply to enter the cafeteria, regardless of whether they were planning on getting a light sandwich or heading for extra-large helpings of the pasta bar.

	THE OLD CAF	the new Waves Cafe	McDONALD’S
hours	Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 7p.m. Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.	Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 7p.m. Saturday and Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.	Sunday - Thursday 5:30 a.m. - 11p.m. Saturday and Sunday 5:30 a.m. - midnight
convenience	It was there, you were there, and they served food. What else did you need?	It’s here, you’re here, and they serve food. What else do you need?	It’s there, you’re here. Hmm. But it is nice to get off campus every now and then.
wait-time	Pasta nights really allowed you to have a nice long conversation with the person behind you in line.	You wait longer watching them cook and serve your food than you do in any one of six register lines.	You can’t drive thru the caf. But grabbing Haagen Daz to go from the new caf is even faster.
selection	Feeding 600 people at a time did not allow for much creativity. Take your pick: mac&cheese, meatloaf or rice.	A definite improvement over the old caf. Less tuna, more Haagen Daz.	Welcome to McDonald’s. Would you like to order a hamburger, a hamburger or a hamburger?
taste	That feeding 600 people thing played a pretty big part in the taste of the food.	Hey, less tuna, more Haagen Daz pretty much says it all.	A healthy mix of greasy, salty, and mass-produced goodness. I like that.
cost	$1,200 for three months of all-you-can-eat! Where else could you pull that off?	The most heated criticism of the new caf is the prices. But, hey, you’re getting Haagen Daz ice cream!	You just can’t beat $ .79 for a hamburger.
health	When it came to health, the old caf was a choose your own adventure: fries, extra grease, or a plate of lettuce.	More tuna, less Haagen Daz is better. But at least you don’t gorge yourself on all-you-can-eat caf cookies anymore.	Face the facts: If you make Mickey D’s your prime nourishment choice, you won’t live forever.