Residents of Richardson Court may have one less dining hall to choose from this year.

Linden Dining Center, the smallest of three dining services in Richardson Court, may close in early October as part of a short-term budget-cutting strategy, said Jon Lewis, director of ISU Dining Services.

If the center closes, students who normally eat at Linden Dining Center would need to choose an alternate hall to eat in, such as the Oak-Elm Dining Center or the Maple-Willow-Larch Dining Center, he said.

The dining center would, however, remain open for the athletes who normally eat there, due to the extra money the ISU Athletic Department pays to have this service provided, Lewis said.

If the dining center does close, it would only be temporarily, Lewis said.

“We fully intend to reopen [Linden Dining Center] next fall,” he said.

A hall meeting was held Tuesday in the Linden Hall lounge in order to give the Department of Residence a chance to address the issue. Students offered suggestions as to how to resolve the problem, one student going so far as to propose his own budget figures.

There are about 670 vacancies in rooms in Richardson Court this year which has created a debt of $2.9 million, said Randy Alexander, director of the Department of Residence, as he spoke to students and Linden Hall dining staff during the meeting.

“Just within this month, we’ve gone down 100 contracts,” Alexander said. “We have the capacity easily to feed Linden residents elsewhere.”

A decision has not been made yet, but Alexander said he is “95 percent sure” the Linden Dining Center will be closed.

“I cannot sit here and tell you it’s not going to cause an inconvenience for you,” Alexander said after a student commented she was asthmatic and it would be difficult for her to travel to another dining center to eat. “If we thought we could find a better alternative, we would go for it.”

On Monday, Lewis said there were other options being considered to alleviate the budget situation, but the closing of Linden Dining Center “is the major one.” By eliminating Linden Dining Center, ISU Dining Services will save approximately $395,000.

Staff members were notified last week of the possibility of the dining center being shut down.

While some dining staff will remain at the center to provide meals for the athletes, others will be relocated to already vacant spots at other dining centers around campus, Lewis said.

Mara Spooner, a student staff member at the Linden Dining Center, said she is unhappy she may not be able to work at the dining center through this year.

“It’s kind of sudden,” she said. “Apparently the management didn’t know until last week and we just found out Friday.”

Spooner, sophomore in political science, said if the dining center closes and she isn’t placed in another dining hall, she would be forced to find work off campus.

“Those of us who do work there don’t just work for a little extra money,” she said. “We work because we have to for money.”

Nate Swinton, a student staff member at the Linden Dining Center, said he is upset with the possibility of the dining center closing and he does not want to switch to another dining hall.

Swinton, sophomore in history, spoke over a small crowd of disgruntled Linden residents haphazardly calling for a riot Monday on Merrill House in Linden Hall.

“[Linden Dining Center] is cozy; it’s not too big,” he said. “It’s like a mom and pop restaurant.”

Erin Chambers, freshman in hotel, restaurant and institution management, said she ate at Linden Dining Hall because it was a change of atmosphere. However, she said the Oak-Elm Dining facility offered more variety than Linden.

“I, personally, would rather go to Oak-Elm,” she said.

Anton Boose, a resident of Linden Hall, said it would be an inconvenience for him if he were not able to eat at the Linden Dining Center.

“I’m used to just walking down the stairs every day,” said Boose, freshman in aerospace engineering. “[Linden] has better food than Maple-Willow-Larch.”