"I mean, we've always had fish and chips, pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs," he says, "Fast food is very popular among the students."

Eisert says that while nutrition and the fast food issue are important, his committee has primarily tried to deal with other food service related concerns.

"We've been taking the issue of nutrition up, but we've taken the stance that what our constituents want are longer dining hall hours, Saturday brunch, and some sort of credit system for students who miss meals, that sort of thing," he says.

"The food service has 6000 students on the 21-meal per week contract and serves some 14,000 meals per day," says Benjamin H. Walcott, assistant director of the dining services.

All Over the Place

Area colleges are not being left behind in the mad rush to be trendy, either. Brandeis University has a panorama of fast food choices for its students, including lines for fast food, pizza, and cheesesteak subs in the same building as its regular dining hall.

And many Brandeis students regularly substitute trips through the french fry line for more conventional fare. "It's really popular," says Executive Dietician Marjorie J. Moores.

"You have those people who are very interested in nutrition and health, and you have those who are going to eat junk food," Moores says.

At Boston University, students have similar options.

"There is a fast food area called the Turtle Express in the student union," says Alan R. Leo, food services director there. Students can apparently use their "points," a form of university money, at this location to purchase all the typical fast food goodies.

"The place is packed," Leo says. "The dining room here is full for at least three hours, especially on Sundays."

But at Harvard any move toward more fast food will have to be prompted by a groundswell of popular acclaim. Walcott claims that conflicting requests make it impossible for food service innovations to please everyone. "Vegetarians want more vegetarian dishes, meat eaters want more roast beef," Walcott says. "When we feel that a representative number of students want something that can be accomodated, we give it much better consideration than if it comes as an individual personal request."