October 2008
features
the stentorian I ncssm
Metz Assumes Management of Cafeteria
By Jen Zhu
As students dedicate two years of their life to the School of Science and Math,
the mysterious life source of sustenance lies, tucked away, on the ground floor of
Bryan; the cafeteria. While the PFM is no stranger to the seniors, it essentially is
a new PFM for both seniors and juniors with a different food company, Metz &
Associates, in charge of the PFM and its food this year.
The PFM’s new management and conditions in general have been met with
a mixture of feelings. “I think the PFM is actually better than last year. This year
they have grilled cheese every day, a greater variety of desserts, and three PFM
lines to shorten the wait. So overall it’s an improvement!” says senior Kalyan Rao.
Erin Shaw agrees, “It’s much better than it was last year.. .although not being able
to get more than one main dish at a time is annoying.”
Other seniors don’t have as much faith in the cafeteria’s services. Christina
Daly concedes, “Umm it’s free....but my friends found a bunch of fruit flies
Metz & Associates. Ltd
drowning in their drinks the other day, which kind of makes me question its
sanitation.” Janneke Parrish also comments, “It would be nice if they had food for
vegans every once in a while.” The novelty of eating cafeteria food every meal,
every day, has been met by the juniors with mixed feelings as well. Ying Ao-Zhang
says, “It’s got room to improve. That’s a big understatement too.” On the other
hand, Ariane Nabors states, “It’s not great, but it’s a lot better than I expected. The
sandwiches are pretty good usually.” While some PFM policies have remained
constant from last year, others are new or may be new for those who never knew
they existed in the first place.
Per trip to the serving line, students are allowed the choice of one entree
only...but with as many side dishes as desired. While this may be irritating to
students who want all their food in one go, Ron Fayton, the Food Service Director,
insists, “It’s all you can eat but not all you can take!” Once you’re done with your
first plate, you can always come back to the serving line for a second entree; this
PFM policy is simply to prevent waste of food. You are able to distinguish entrees
from side dishes because only entrees are listed on the white cards at the serving
line, and anything at the grill, besides French fries, is an entree.
While students cannot get any drinks or food during non-mealtime hours,
students may bring PFM food back to their dorms during the regular hours: the
cafeteria has paper plates and paper cups available for take-out food. However,
those paper plates and cups are hidden most of the time for a reason! If you need
them for take out, you can just ask...if you’re eating in the PFM, don’t waste the
paper cups and plates. The Styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons by the ice cream
machine are meant for only take-out as well.
Not only does limiting usage of take out utensils benefit the environment,
it allows more money of the PFM budget to go towards food. A great idea is to
bring your own plate and cup, but PFM policy is that food must be first placed on
one of the PFM’s own dishes and then you can transfer the food to your own dish.
This precaution is simply due to a health concern and prevention of any cross
contamination; you never know what bacterium could be lurking on a mysterious
dish from a student’s dorm room.
Other notes of interest:
1) YES, chocolate ice cream is
now available. 2) If the ketchup/
mustard/mayonnaise/BBQ sauce
runs out, there are more containers
in the grill area, and if you let the
cashier know, the cashier should
either refill the condiment container immediately or tell one of the workservice
students or managers to do so. 3) Spill? If it’s little, clean up after yourselves. If
there’s a big spill, find a staff member to inform, and please help clean up: there’s
a bucket and mop in the dishroom! 4) Yes, more food exists outside of the PFM.
Although still provided and delivered by the PFM, fruit baskets are located around
campus in 6 locations: Bryan Lobby Desk, 1st Floor Watts—Academic Programs
room (across from Registrar), 2nd Floor Watts—Business Office, ITS, 2nd Floor
Royall—Counseling Services, and Human Resources Cottage (on other side of
Royall).
Regardless of any feelings towards the PFM, students must accept the
fact that the cafeteria will be the main source of food for this year...unless your
parents give you enough money for constant dining on 9th Street or you thrive on
a huge stash of Ramen and Pop Tarts. Any questions or suggestions on the PFM?
Every other Monday at 7 PM in the cafeteria’s grill, the Food Service Committee
holds meetings open to anybody interested, or you can always leave a note on the
suggestion board by the grill window anyday.
New Teachers Accept the Greater Challenge
By Daixi Xu and Hillary Seybold
1) How is teaching at NCSSM
different from your other teaching
experiences?
2) Students come to NCSSM
seeking to accept the greater challenge.
Does the motto “ Maius Opus Moveo”
play any part in why you chose to teach
here?
3) How does an environment
in which students are devoted to their
studies affect you as a teacher? Does
it make your job more interesting,
challenging, or easy?
4) What has been your favorite
part so far?
high school from a college teaching
setting - specifically to a math classroom
from a teaching - with such emphasis
on excellence is a great challenge for
me, one that I relish.
4) Interacting with my [Pre
calculus and Algebra 3] students is my
favorite part
ideas.
4) As an alum, I was familiar with
stupid types. It’s nice to be in a place
where every student is as motivated and
engaged.
Angela Teachey - Mathematics
1) 1 was a professor of math
education at Kennesaw State University
in Georgia. Every time 1 observed a
student teach in the field, 1 missed high
school students and decided to come
home.
2) I definitely did. Returning to
Meredith Murphy
Humanities
2) Teaching here is a completely
different challenge from my old school.
I’m challenged here, and I get to
challenge students. When I came back,
everything smelled the same. It was
really comforting...it was nice to be
back at a place with happy memories
3) As a US History teacher, I
was teaching to a test, but now I have a
wealth of primary document resources.
Instead of asking a historian about
history, we can formulate our own
Elizabeth Peeples - Humanities
1) Sure - I’ve always been
interested in engaging in an intellectual
environment with students. I see
NCSSM as the perfect place to do so.
2) It makes my job easier in
one sense because I can bring in more
ideas and engage in deeper and more
interesting conversation and discussion
with the students. I also think it pushes
me to be a better teacher in many
ways.
3) I really liketheinterdisciplinary
aspect of American Studies. I think
it makes the material and ideas more
engaging for the students and helps
them see history and literature as an
intermingled narrative rather than
separate entities.
Tonya Smith-Holliman
Foreign Language
1) Because I’m an alum from ’89
and worked here before grad school [as
an art teacher], I am familiar with this
school on so many levels. It’s like being
home again, but it has its unique charms.
It gives me a different perspective and a
greater appreciation for all facets of the
institution
2) Being aware of the type
of institution Science & Math is,
I implicitly accepted the greater
challenge. Undertaking this new
endeavor, I knew this was place where
you have to challenge students and be
challenged as a professor in a way that
affords growth
4) Working with students is
always fun. Teaching all the Spanish I
classes is fun because it gives me an
opportunity to excite people about the
language. Also, Destinos is fun!