Starting in January 2025, students will have the option to swipe in at the Class of 1953 Commons with palm biometric recognition technology provided by Idemia — a technology company that specializes in biometrics and cryptography — rather than with physical ID cards, according to Dartmouth Dining director Jon Plodzik. Other dining locations are also undergoing changes, Plodzik said, including a new boba menu at Cafe@Baker launched at the start of fall term and a new ordering kiosk at Courtyard Cafe coming in March 2025.
According to Plodzik, the College chose to install the biometric recognition scanners to increase efficiency. While the current system requires students to hand their cards to a ’53 Commons employee to be swiped in, the Idemia scanners will take less than five seconds per person, according to Idemia’s website.
Plodzik said he is “excited” about the installation of biometric scanners. He previously worked at the University of New Hampshire, where a similar system was implemented more than 20 years ago.
“This is a dream come true because I’ve seen it in action, and I know how efficient it makes the operation,” Plodzik said.
Katelyn Celentano ’28, however, said she does not believe the line at the door is the “biggest problem” at the Class of 1953 Commons.
“If they were going to invest in a big project, I would’ve preferred they add more seating,” Celentano said.
According to Plodzik, three Idemia MorphoWave scanners — which measure the distance between fingers and other data points for identification — with automatic gates will be installed in the Class of 1953 Commons over winterim. One will have a wider gate to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the gates will only open if the student has an available meal swipe, he added.
The biometric recognition system is completely optional, and students can still use their ID cards to swipe in with a receptionist at the entrance, Plodzik said. The receptionist will also still greet students, dispense Green2Go containers — which hold to-go orders — and handle DBA and credit card transactions, Plodzik added.
The installation of biometric recognition machines will not result in job or hours losses for ’53 Commons employees, according to Plodzik. Current swipers will be reassigned to other jobs in the Class of 1953 Commons that are currently unfilled, such as helping with the line at the Ma Thayer’s station.
Students can measure their hands for the system in the Class of 1953 Commons starting on Nov. 4, Plodzik said. It takes three to four minutes to complete the enrollment process, he added.
According to Plodzik, the biometric recognition system will be most helpful for students on the Ivy Unlimited dining plan, because “people come and go and don’t need to have their ID every time.”
Jeremy Wang ’27 said he believes the new system will alleviate the inconvenience of taking out a physical ID.
He added that he does not consider the collection of biometric data to be “a big breach of privacy” because the College already knows personal information about him, such as his home address and birthday.
The Courtyard Cafe is also implementing changes to increase efficiency, beginning next year. Starting in March 2025, the Courtyard Cafe will switch to a kiosk ordering system, according to Plodzik. Students will type in orders and check out at the kiosk.
“Employees can work on making food instead of taking orders,” Plodzik said. “It’ll just make the place more efficient.”
Michael Zhang ’25 said he is excited about the new ordering system because the “almost 20-minute” line to order during peak meal times often deters him from eating at Courtyard Cafe.
“I only go here during non-busy hours because I don’t want to get stuck in line,” Zhang said.
Other dining changes have already taken place at Cafe@Baker, which unveiled a new menu with boba tea, fruit tea and smoothies at the start of the term. Cafe@Baker sold more than 200 boba drinks on their opening day, according to Plodzik.
“I think it’s a good sign for things to come,” he said. “We’re just trying to figure out what works there.”
The drinks come from the Botrista Beverage Company, which installed their machine at Cafe@Baker on Sept. 10, according to Plodzik. The new offerings replaced the previous menu, which contained coffee and smoothies. Plodzik said he discovered Botrista at their demonstration at the National Association of College and University Food Services conference last summer.
Botrista marketing director Leah Letcher said Botrista has been integrated into cafes at 50 colleges since early 2023.
“The machines are really intuitive for employees to use, and they’re much easier to clean,” Letcher said.
The new menu has received mixed reviews. Laura Lui ’28 said she was not impressed with the classic milk tea because the tea was “overly sweet” and the boba was “too hard.”
However, Benjamin Caswell ’28 said the mango smoothie with mango popping boba was “exceptional.”
Some community members miss the old menu offerings at Cafe@Baker, which offered coffee and smoothie options as an alternative to Novack Cafe.
Library Information Technology Systems manager Joe Montibello said he tried to order a coffee from Cafe@Baker and was turned away because the menu no longer serves coffee. He said he may try the boba in the future, but “it doesn’t really replace coffee.”
Cafe@Baker manager Tyler Brock said he hopes that more students will “get out of [their] comfort zone” and try the new options available on the menu.
