Summer 2025 may have been the summer Bethel turned… different. Here’s a roundup of some of the changes:
Ditching dining center trays
Trayless Tuesday has now become trayless every day.
Over the summer, Bethel University and Sodexo decided to ditch the black plastic trays that many students previously used to try to balance three entrees to avoid a round of applause. Sodexo General Manager Jay Rekedal said Bethel is hoping to become more environmentally responsible by reducing the food waste caused by the trays.
In place of the trays, students are using smaller white platters to carry food items, a dish initially meant to serve only as salad plates, according to Student Manager Hannah Addink.
These ceramic plates, while more environmentally friendly, break much more easily during cleaning than the old trays, Addink said, with upwards of four or five plates breaking each shift. The new salad plates also create messy problems for the student workers in the dishroom, who are likely to get more food spilled on themselves due to the smaller size of the plates.
— Rachael Van Rossum
No more “DTR” bench
Another recent change to the Bethel campus includes the loss of a beloved historic landmark: the “DTR,” or “define the relationship” bench. Looking out at Lake Valentine near a large rock along the path to the Lakeside Center, the bench offered a place of rest for squirrels, professors and students.
But most famously, it served as an intimate space for young Bethel couples to sit inches away from each other and ask the painful but inevitable question, “What are we?”
With the bench no longer available, Bethel couples must search for a new location to define their relationship statuses. Perhaps in the privacy of their own dorms? (Within “vis hours,” of course).
— Emily Christiansen
Stadium lights provide new opportunities
For the first time in Royal Stadium history, lights stand guard, circling the rubber track and turf football field.
Athletic Director Greg Peterson said the renovation opens up opportunities for night games, more summer camps and evening practices.
“It has always been a significant challenge for our teams when daylight savings occurs and it would get dark at 4:45 – 5 [p.m.],” Peterson said. “It severely hampered opportunities for practice.”
Although Royal Stadium was built in 1995, the plan for lights wasn’t approved by city officials until 2021. An anonymous donation made the construction of lights possible in July. Other additions since 2021 include the video scoreboard, the visitors’ side bleachers and the iconic blue track surrounding the field.
— Aiden Penner
Goodbye, awkward directory photos
During previous move-in days, incoming students suffered the canon event of standing in line to have a student ID photo taken. The line, as long as the wait for the Wild Thing at Valley Fair, featured a crowd of frazzled freshmen fixing their hair and clothes, tousled after move-in. Most people looked unprepared for their ID photo.
“You’re not ready for the picture, and they just take it like that,” junior Htee Moo said.
Everyone saw these photos. Professors taking attendance in class. Student workers at the Monson Dining Center. Lovesick freshmen stalking their crush.
Some students said they viewed the photo submission as a positive change.
“It was easier and more comfortable this way,” transfer student Jay Kimbier said.
The new photos uploaded can range from casual iPhone photos to senior portraits taken by professional photographers.
“I did do a selfie,” freshman Grace Matvey said. “I took it because I didn’t have anyone to take it for me.”
— Megan Hayton
