Food for Thought

Since its inception, the Faculty/Student Interaction Dinner program has helped encourage conversation between professors and students outside of the classroom. Unfortunately, many professors fail to take advantage of this opportunity to informally interact with their students. More professors should utilize this program in order to strengthen their relationships with students.

Run by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the FSID program is meant to bridge the gap between professors and students by covering the cost of a meal with up to 15 students, as long as at least half of them are undergraduates. The funds are available to lecturers in language, and assistant, associate, and full professors who have full-time positions. Professors may host meals at their apartments or bring their students to Faculty House or various pre-approved restaurants—including Carmine's, Havana Central, Cafe Nana, Indus Valley Cuisine of India, and the Mill Korean Restaurant. Finally, faculty must give administrators of the FSID program at least five business days' notice before hosting a meal. Despite the encouragement of several departments and the program's minimal regulations, a great number of eligible classes do not participate.

Academic departments should actively promote FSID, and professors should seize the chance to share a meal with their students on the University's tab. Between students' hectic schedules and professors' research projects, students may struggle to forge long-lasting relationships with their teachers. These meals foster student-teacher bonds, and the relaxed format gives students and professors time to address topics that don't fit within the course syllabus and class schedule. In addition, communal meals encourage camaraderie among peers and lead to more inclusive classroom discussions. However, the benefits of this program cannot be realized if it is not sufficiently promoted. The administration should increase its advertisement of FSID and alert faculty of the Dec. 1 deadline. Moreover, the administration should urge professors to dine with their classes early in the semester, when establishing a rapport with students is most crucial.

Columbia's accomplished professors are one of the University's greatest assets and have much academic expertise to offer students in and out of the classroom. FSID goes a long way toward maximizing student-professor interaction, and professors should make every effort to take part in such a beneficial program.