Friday, January 29, 2010

Students’ Concern: Introducing ‘Fridays in the Caf’

BY BRANDON WANLESS
Cardinal Staff

As this issue of the Cardinal is being printed, a large social project for food service has already been well under way. On Friday, Jan. 22, Chartwells, KSMR and Student Activities Committee (SAC) cooperated in bringing about the first of the “Fridays in the Caf” events. Many people reading this paper have already been exposed to this new weekly activity in the Michael H. Toner Student Center’s Cafeteria on Fridays during lunch hours.

The project all started with discussions I had with Curt Coshenet, Chartwell’s food service director, regarding thoughts of vitalizing the social atmosphere for the Caf. After weeks of passively throwing out ideas, a student approached me asking about whether Chartwells would be willing to play music sometime during meals. Upon discussion with Coshenet, we realized the great opportunity for solidifying our ideas into a reality, and thus began the concept of “Fridays in the Caf.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the event, every Friday from 11:30 a.m. until 1:15 p.m., the Caf gets a jumpstart of activity. For starters, every week there is a new special guest chef, a member of the SMU faculty or staff who dresses up in the chef’s outfit — complete with hat — and assists at one of the serving stations. This is usually done to support something with which he or she is actively involved. For example, Jason Richter, assistant dean of students for activities, leadership and service, was the first official guest chef, and he used the opportunity to support the recent International Showcase. Future chefs will have the occasion to do the same for their clubs, organizations or events.

Finally, to top everything off, KSMR agreed to provide a specially-formatted radio show to broadcast from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every Friday. While the program is available everywhere in Winona and on campus, it is specifically designed for those eating lunch in the Caf. With everything from the best music to entertaining stories, the radio show provides a fun and active social atmosphere to properly host students who simply want to hang out during “Fridays in the Caf.”

If you have any questions, comments or concerns relating to student life at SMU, please email me directly at ugstudentconcerns@smumn.edu.

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