Residence dining halls across campus celebrated the end of the semester by giving students a special meal with more selection and options Wednesday evening.

Carolyn Roy, dining service manager for Shaw Hall, said the holiday dinner is a meal with more options than normally presented.

"It changes students' moods because it's getting dark at 5:30," Roy said. "It's just something special we do to boost their spirits before finals week."

Diane Dennerll, music therapy and psychology junior, said she enjoys the holiday-themed dinners and the cafeteria's creative menus.

"Sometimes, the selection can get boring," Dennerll said.

Roy said the staff puts a lot of effort into the decorating of the cafeterias and has always had a great response from students about changing the cafeteria's routine.

"They're glad we take the time to do the extra decorations, but no matter how well we decorate it, if we don't serve good food, it doesn't matter," Roy said.

Shaw Hall and other on-campus cafeterias served prime rib, shrimp, Caribbean jerk chicken, and a wide variety of salads and desserts.

Paul Gadola, the Brody Complex dining service manager, said he agreed the holiday dinner is a way to celebrate the season and an upbeat way to end the semester.

Brody Complex went with more traditional holiday decorations, including seasonal flower arrangements and giant snow globes.

Also, instead of having one special dinner, Brody Hall is having smaller themes each day of the week. Each day the cafeteria highlighted certain food groups, Gadola said.

On Wednesday, the cafeteria highlighted desserts with an entire station devoted to them. Today, a wider variety of entrees will be offered.

Roy said because MSU has such a diverse group of individuals, dining services has tried not to go with strictly one theme.

"It is more of an interpretation of the climate than trying to represent any particular organization or religion," Roy said.

However, some students say the cafeterias need to become more inclusive of different holidays.

Dennerll said the halls should be incorporating more diverse decorations along with the foods they already serve.

"I have seen tons of dinners that have different ethnic themes, but with the holiday dinner, the only hint of religion has been Christian," Dennerll said.

This year the hall is going with a tropical theme, Roy said. A fountain with tropical plants surrounding it graced the center of the cafeteria.

"Last year, one of the ice carvings was a menorah and we had an ice skating rink, but this year, we wanted to do something different," Roy said.