The Pilot
Reinventing the cafetdiia
one meal at a time
News
ll|>scale living coming to GWU
by Kevin Kassakatis
Pilot Staff Writer
Hope is on the horizon for the
food at Gardner-Webb.
Eric Pearce was hired as Gard-
ner-Webb’s new' Head Chef over
the summer with hopes to improve
the consistency and the quality of
the food.
Pearce has been in food service
for his entire life. He graduated
from Culinary School in 1999 from
Wake Tech Community College.
After some training, Pearce real
ized that he was not ready to be a
chef. He went back to school and
received his degree in Food Ser
vice Management
iand Nutrition for
the University of
North Carolina at
Greensboro.
Since graduat
ing from UNCG,
Pearce has worked
for many different
schools including
UNCG, Elon,.East
Carolina, and Sa
lem College.
When asked if
he was aware of
the overall view of
the cafeteria food,
Pearce understands
that the Cafeteria
does not have the
best reputation for '
consistency and quality and he has
plans to change that.
Pearce’s number one goal is to
have happy students.
“This is not my food service op
eration, it’s the students’. And if
they’re not happy. I’m not happy,”
Pearce said.
In order to. provide choices that
the students prefer, Pearce tries to
make himself as visible as possible
and has plans to start a request-a-
meal in the Cafeteria to make stu
dents feel more at home.
Another way Pearce feels will
help him provide more of what the
students want is to do some exhibi
tion cooking. He feels that it would
give him an opportunity to talk
“I continually have
to learn the students
and try to reinvent
myself every day to
create a variety of
food that the students
will like. ”
-Eric Pearce
to students and figure along with
making the cooking process vis
ible to students. A lot of places try
to keep the cooking in the kitchen,
Pearce does not. He stressed that
he wants to remove the “its done
behind closed doors” mentality.
“Cooking in front of the stu
dents allows them to see that we
use fresh food and it allows me to
get to know the students," Pearce
said.
Pearce has also moved toward
using 100% fresh fruits and veg
etables.
“Probably 90% of the fruits and
vegetables we use come from farms
-within 100 miles of here. Obvi
ously we can’t
get pineapples or
strawbendes local
ly, but every
thing comes
from local farms,”
Pearce said.
Changes in the
Kennel are also in
the works. Pearce
would not go into
detail about these
changes but would
state that the plans
are drastic changes
to what the Kennel
does now.
With the vari-
• ety of food being a
major disappoint
ment among stu
dents, Pearce is working towards
some changes within the lines. He
wants, to add more appetizer type
foods along with new desserts and
more healthy foods.
In order to create a more of a
variety of food, Pearce has been
using his training from UNCG,
Elon, ECU, and Salem ^^lege. He
mentioned that when h^^trked at^
Salem', the students wanted healthy
foods, Pearce is now using that ex
perience to help expand the veg
etarian line.
“I continually have to learn the
students and try to reinvent my
self every day to create a variety
of food that the students will like,”
Pearce said.
by Jordan Love
Pilot Staff Writer
The Reserve at Stonegate is a new set
of apartment buildings being built just up
the road from Gardner-Webb. If driving
towards the coffee shop, the Reserve is
exactly one mile away on the left.
“The first building is going to have
twelve apartments and will be completed
by August just in time for Gardner-Webb
students to move in,” said Dena Span-
gler-Stacy, one of the project’s planners.
The apartments are targeted towards
Gardner-Webb students due to their close
proximity to campus. Each apartment
will have four bedrooms, four bathrooms,
four walk-in closets, a living room, and a
full kitchen. They will also come with a
washer and dryer unit per apartment, and
the floors are all hardwood.
The kitchen will be complete with
granite counter-tops with stainless steel
fliances. Each person will have their
I lease, meaning that if one roommate
Kdes to move out, the other won’t be
stuck paying their part of the rent.
Rent is currently priced at $400 per
person per month. The Reserve will pay
for water and sewage, but each apart-
anplii
nWid
ment will be responsible for their electri
cal and cable bills.
The vision for the entire 21 acres
purchased is to one day have five total
apartment buildings, a clubhouse with a
pool, and the possibility of town houses.
Included in the rent is also a membership
to the Ruby-Hunt YMCA, providing
students with complete access to a full
gym.
While $400 a month might seem ex
pensive, the Spangler-Stacy urges stu
dents to consider the price to live in Uni
versity Commons: $695 a month. The
price is so high because of the Universi
ty’s required meal plan for all on-campus
students.
“We decided to build these apart
ments in Boiling Springs simply as an
outreach for Gardner-Webb students. We
know there is a need for alternate hous
ing, and w«’re offering upscale living
at a fraction of the cost,” said Spangler-
Stacy.
No pets are allowed and each unit is
non-smoking. Student interested in liv
ing in these off campus apartments are
encouraged to check out The Reserve on
Facebook or by visiting their website at
www.reserveatstonegate.com.
New visitation policy
put into place
by Jordan Love
Pilot Staff Writer
After years of complaining and
pleading for less-strict visitation policies
in the dorms, the voice of the students
has finally prevailed. A new policy states
during visitation hours, residents are now
allowed to close and lock their doors dur
ing visits from the opposite sex.
Previously, the rule has been that
the door must be cracked and the RA or
GRD must be able to open the door with-
> it having to turn the door knob,
“If the RA or GRD suspects anything
from behind a closed door, they have the
right to key in,” said Residence Life’s
Sherry Ingram.
Some students see this new policy as
a breath of fresh air while other students
are appalled to see a Christian Univer
sity bending to the ways of the world. If
roommates have differing opinions on
the subject, they are encouraged to sit
down together and find a compromise.
“RA’s are not here to babysit and as
college students, we should have enough
responsibility to make the right decision
knowing the expectations of the Univer
sity,” said Meghan Sipe, RA of Decker
2nd floor.
Although Sipe personally has no
problem with the new rule, she said that
some girls on her hall have expressed
their distaste with guys and girls being
allowed to lock dorm room doors.
Of course, students are still required
to sign their guest’s in and out and visita
tion hours. However, with this new pol
icy Sipe feels that the University “is on
the way to doing away with the visitation
policy all together.”
Because Gardner-Webb is still clas
sified as a Christian University, having
an open 24-7 visitation policy is highly
unlikely.
Pueblito Express has strong review
by Diana Palka
Pilot Editor
At the very moment I stepped in
side Pueblito Express, I was assured
that the restaurant wouldn’t follow
the footsteps of its predecessors at
119 N. Main St., and that it would
be there for more than two semes
ters.
The vibrant colored paint coupled
with the lax atmosphere practically
invited me through the doors and up
to the Qdoba-style bar to place my beans, lettuce, shredded cheese and
order. ^^omato. For no additional fee, I add-
The menu was far mc^Rxtensiv^Kd guacamole and sour cream, 1 got
all of these things for six bucks (plus
$1.50 for a drink, with free refills).
Each meal is served with a bas
ket of chips and salsa. And every
one’s favorite cheese dip (with more
ehips, of course) is only $3.75.
Wanting dessert? Try the Pastel
Frito Funnel for $3.75; a cinnamon
and sugar churro-like treat topped
with whipped cream.
than I thought it would be for the
size of the place. Anything from a
burrito to a Mexican pizza to a que-
sadilla to nachos to tacos was no
more than $7. I decided to go with
the Jumbo Bean Burrito, served on
your choice of a white or wheat tor
tilla.
The burrito was filled with the
option of chicken or steak, rice
mm.
And, we're ready to prove it.
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The Pilot
Blake DuDonis
Editor-in-Chief
Diana Palka
Editor
Dr. Bob Carey
Advisor
Mallory Baxter
Designer
Amanda Bridges
Design Advisor
Andrew Veeder
Sports Editor
Michelle Alwerdt
Kevin Kassakatis
Jordan Love
Molly Phipps
Staff Writers
Robert Chestnut
Erin Cooke
Brian Cooper
Hailey Doolittle
Tommy Grossman
Matt Hand
Tyler Kucifer
Brandi Lebeck
Cat McDonald
Staff Photographers
www.gwupiiot.com
704-406-3844
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pilot@gardner-webb.edu