Clemson is ranked No. 23 in national Public Universities, No. 1 in football, and No. 1,789 in campus dining. That being said, I know I, like many other Clemson students, grew tired of dining hall food about a month into the start of school. My friends and I had high hopes for the Core Campus Dining Hall, especially after experiencing Harcombe’s low lighting and long lines. However, we were sadly disappointed. Switching out broccoli for mushrooms at the stir fry station is really the extent of Core diversifying their daily meal options.
Lucky for us, Hard Core Hacks was created.
Hard Core Hacks is a Facebook page that is comparable to the “Tasty” videos you may find on Facebook, but it is specific to Clemson University and uses food from the Core dining hall on campus to provide insight on hidden treats you never even knew existed.
According to freshman and creator Jade Richard, the goal of the Hard Core Hacks Facebook page is to “show students new and creative ways to spice up their meals in the dining hall.” Jade is part of the Clemson University Student Government Senate and was assigned a project of “finding creative ways to display all of the food options available in Clemson’s dining halls.” Jade has found a way to make on campus dining more bearable and exciting.
Though the page was started in late January, Jade has already uploaded a significant amount of different dishes. These different recipes range from breakfast bagels and banana French toast to fruit parfaits and ice cream cookie sandwiches. These dishes give students options beyond the prepared meals that Core puts out every day. This page allows students to feel like they actually have a say about what they eat, and helps students to personalize what they eat every day. 
According to Jade, students have been responding “tremendously well” to her page, with Richard’s first post alone receiving 1,500 views. Her next posts increased in popularity as well and the page is now at 250 likes. When asked why students are responding so positively Richard said, “I do believe that it has shown so many students new, exciting options in the dining hall that they might not have thought about before.”
I know I, for one, don’t venture outside of my same stir-fry, chicken sandwich, pasta and curly fry stations, so becoming aware of new alternatives has really allowed me to venture outside my food comfort zone. It has also inspired me to be more creative when picking meals, sometimes mixing ingredients from different stations. For instance, instead of a plain bagel and cream cheese, now I am adding peanut butter and bananas to it. When I make salads, I will sometimes grab some deli meat or grilled chicken from another station to top it off. Hard Core Hacks is exactly what students need when they are stuck in a dining hall food rut.
So, if you find yourself daily eating processing going omelet, sandwich, pizza, repeat or you constantly find yourself depressed and bored over lack of options at Core and you are running low on paw points, Hard Core Hacks may do you some justice. Jade posts about once a week, every Monday around noon. Make sure to check out her weekly page for some awesome, tasty new ideas to spice up your dining hall experience.