Undergraduate Council (UC) members proposed extending dining hall hours for dinner and presented a report showing strong student support for the change at the Committee on House Life (CHL) meeting yesterday.

According to the report, 87 percent of undergraduate respondents to a survey said that if given the option, they would eat dinner after 7:15 p.m. The data were based on a phone survey of 270 undergraduates completed by the UC.

Ninety-one percent of students polled who miss dinner at least once a week said they would be likely to eat dinner in a dining hall if they could go after 7:15 p.m.

CHL members also discussed a proposal from Faryl W. Ury ’06, who is also a Crimson executive, to expand the annual tutor evaluations to include feedback about Senior Tutors and House Masters.

Currently, only seniors can evaluate these individuals, as part of the senior surveys filled out before graduation. Other undergraduates evaluate only resident tutors or proctors each year.

Senior Tutors and Masters will now be asked for further feedback on the proposal, which could next go before the Council of Masters. If implemented, a group will evaluate the effectiveness of survey questions next January.

Following the presentation of the report on dining halls, members of the CHL were in agreement that the current situation is a problem for students.

UC Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Chair Aaron D. Chadbourne ’06, who presented the report, said that keeping dining halls open until 8:30 p.m. for dinner is “the right ballpark to be aiming for.”

“Ideally, we’d like to see 24-hour dining,” Chadbourne said.

Though in agreement that the problem exists, CHL members were cautious about extending dining hall hours due to the additional costs it would require.

CHL members noted that extending dining by even a small period of time could cost significant amounts of money for Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS), mainly due to the cost of paying workers for additional hours of labor.

Though the exact additional figure is unclear, some estimated that it could cost more than $1 million dollars.

Chadbourne stressed that the UC was taking concerns about cost increases into account in their efforts.

Alternative solutions suggested included granting students more Crimson Cash Board Plus, expanding services at Loker Commons, or extending hours only at selected dining halls.

In presenting the proposal to the CHL, an advisory body composed of students, administrators, and House masters and staff, the UC sought to draw attention to an issue that has long been discussed among students.