When Sophie Simkin '09 looked at colleges in high school, she considered more than student-to-faculty ratios, acceptance rates and tuition price tags. Simkin, who has kept kosher her entire life, wanted to know how each school accommodated observant Jewish students.
She didn't like the kosher selection at Tufts University and Williams College, and other schools required students to eat all their meals at the Hillel center on campus. But at Brown, Simkin could head to a room in the Sharpe Refectory designated for kosher meal service and then sit with friends elsewhere in the dining hall.
"I like that I can be on kosher meal plan and eat with other students," Simkin said. "I'm not isolated and eating alone at Hillel."
Simkin is one of many students following a special diet while at Brown. Though most college students have to adjust to dining hall cuisine, some work a little harder to navigate the culinary offerings.
Take Richa Bhatnagar '09. She follows Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of health care. Meditation, breathing techniques and yoga play an important role in this system, as do dietary needs. Bhatnagar began meditating about four years ago, and last year she decided to follow Ayurvedic dietary recommendations. She saw an Ayurvedic doctor, who gave her a pulse test and asked her questions based on her personality traits. From this information, he dispensed dietary advice - Bhatnagar now tries to avoid foods such as bananas, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, nuts and bread.
Bhatnagar also abstains from eating meat and tries to include plenty of whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables in her diet. She does not always strictly follow Ayurvedic dietary recommendations - she admitted to occasionally eating fish and sometimes giving into chocolate cravings - but Bhatnagar said she has found it a bit harder to be observant at Brown than at home in Dubai.
"It generally is a downward trend as the semester progresses," she said. "At home, we don't have a lot of unhealthy food. It's hard for me being so busy here and not having the same kind of access to good ingredients."
Still, Bhatnagar described her diet as a sensible rather than restrictive one. She eats plenty of salads at the Ratty - Ayurveda recommends eating a salad 20 minutes before eating cooked food - and when she cooks for herself, she tends to prepare meals such as lentils and oatmeal.
"It's mostly a question of moderation," Bhatnagar said. "If there's something that's not recommended for Ayurveda, it's okay as long as I don't make it the main part of my meal. I have a lot of good options here. It's just a matter of self-control and willpower."
Not all students have been fully pleased with Brown's culinary options. Rashid Hussain '10 and Malika Ali '09, both Muslims, expressed frustration at the steep price of the kosher/Halal meal plan.
As Muslims observing Halal, Hussain and Ali only eat meat prepared in a certain way. The Ratty offers Halal entrees made with meat obtained from a local certified Halal butcher. But at $4,298 per year for 20 meals per week (the same price as the kosher meal plan), compared to $3,648 per year for the normal meal plan, neither Hussain nor Ali stayed on the Halal plan for more than a semester. Instead, they eat as vegetarians while on campus, enjoying Halal meat only off-campus.
The search for non-meat options also defines Eric Gastfriend's '10 dining experience. Gastfriend has been a vegan for three years, and this semester helped form the Brown Veg*n Club, a group devoted to vegetarian and vegan advocacy.
Though he said he would like to see more variety in the Ratty's vegan offerings and greater transparency about food ingredients, Gastfriend said the transition to dining hall food has not been difficult. Gastfriend said he typically eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pasta, burritos, rice with tofu and cereal.
"Since I usually stick to a few main things at the Ratty, I don't worry too much," he said. "For a lot of people, the freedom of college actually makes it a lot easier to be vegetarian or vegan."
But Hannah Mellion '09 does not consider the Ratty vegan-friendly. Mellion experimented with veganism last year and found it isolating and frustrating. Since leaving meal plan this fall and eating meals at the Finlandia co-op, Mellion said she has enjoyed following a vegan diet. One of two vegans at Finlandia, Mellion said she enjoys sharing vegan recipes and baking vegan cookies.
Simkin agreed that having special dietary requirements can be a source of community. As one of just 29 students on the kosher/Halal meal plan - out of about 4,200 total students on meal plan - Simkin said she knows the names of almost everyone she sees in the kosher room at the Ratty. Etan Newman '09 agreed.
"Eating is one of the most important things you do during your day," Newman said. "One of the first things I had to do at Orientation was come to the Ratty and eat in the kosher room, so I met people that way. Even this year, people will walk in and I'll introduce myself."
Mellion stressed the importance of seeking out positive dining experiences. She said she could have been more creative while on meal plan or could have reached out to Dining Services chefs or a dietician. Now, however, she has learned to embrace her unique dietary choices.
"Last year, veganism was something that isolated me from other people," she said. "This year, it connects me to people."
