As much as I love Syracuse, and I love it a lot, the dining halls suck. There's no way around it. Anyone who tells you certain dining halls are better than others are wrong. I promise you, the food at Ernie is the same at Graham, which is the same at Shaw, which is the same at Sadler, and even BBB. It has become my personal mission to 'hack' the dining hall, and find food that I am actually excited about eating.

1. I don't know about you, but I am passionate about grilled cheese. So when I figured out I could get a grilled cheese anytime I wanted at the sandwich station, I think I cried a little. All you have to do is go to the sandwich line, and ask for just bread and cheese, grilled. I know this sounds alarmingly simple, but it's a lifesaver when the only other option is cereal.

2 This one my best friend figured out, so I have to giver her credit. This knock-off meatball sandwich tastes just as good as a regular one, and all you need to an English muffin, toasted, and then spread some marinara sauce on the pieces from the pasta station, and then put a meatball in between. Get even more fancy by asking for a slice of mozzarella from the sandwich line, and then you're good to go!

3. As a vegetarian, I can't vouch for how edible the grilled chicken is, but I've heard its not. You can easily make a Mexican-inspired dinner by taking grilled chicken, and spreading guacamole and salsa on it. This actually gives the chicken some flavor, and adds some veggies too.

4. If you want a healthy alternative to Sbarro pizza, you can easily take an english muffin, spread some marinara sauce, and sprinkle some cheese on it from the salad bar, and pop that in the microwave for a minute and you're good to go.

5. For a healthy side dish that's still tasty, you can ask for hummus at the sandwich station, and pick some veggies from the salad bar to dip, such as green peppers, grape tomatoes, and carrot sticks. Bonus points if the dining hall has pretzels out!

6. The dining hall ice cream is one of the few things that is always good. Make it even better by taking one of the big cereal bowls, filling it about 1/3 of the way with Cinnamon Crunch Toast (undeniable the best cereal ever), and topping it with the ice cream. It sounds a little questionable, but the crunch of the cereal and the cinnamon make ice cream even better (and it's already pretty great).

7. You can also make warm cookie or brownie sundaes by sticking them in the mircowave in the cardboard bowls (not plastic!) and topping them with ice cream