Newspapers / The lance. / Sept. 1, 2006, edition 1 / Page 4
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4 STUDENT LIFE “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” - Voltaire Serving-Up False Promises Leaves Students Unfulfilled By: Tommy Watts For those of you who may or may not have noticed, the second phase of renovations to SAGA (the cafeteria) was not completed over the summer as formerly promised. These renovations were to provide an increase in the quality of food and service that is offered in SAGA. So what is with the delay? The quality of food in SAGA has been a growing concem amongst students over the past few years. Since students are required to be on the meal plan, one might expect the quality of food they are served to be satisfactory. In actuality, what the students have come to typically expect is disappointment. In the spring semester of 2006, it seemed that the ongoing plea for change was heard. The first step of a multi-phase plan to renovate was completed upon return from winter break. At first the change was welcomed by the student body, not only had the appearance of the cafeteria improved, but more importantly the quality in the food had also improved. Everyone seemed anxious to return from summer because according to the December 2005 issue of “Connections”, a newsletter published by the college, they were to expect “Further changes and major physical improvements” upon their return in the fall. But, to the dismay of many returning students, and also to incoming freshman who were told during their recruiting trips that they could expect fiirther renovations, the cafe had not been renovated as promised. When questioning the Office of Student Aff'airs (OSA), the Student Government Association (SGA) was informed that the delay was due to the fact that the school had directed its attention this summer to the completion of the new covered arena at the equesfrian center. At a time where virtually every department is experiencing financial cutbacks, the equestrian program has begun building an estimated $1.2 million facility. Academic departments are forced to limit funds spent on improving education. The athletic department must hmit the use of facilities, such as the pool and weight room because of a lack in fimds to hire staff to oversee these facihties. Even before the completion of the new covered arena, St. Andrews had one of the best equestrian facilities in the courrtiy. It appears that the typical assumption is that this project was more of a want by the equestrian program as opposed to a need. When questioned, many riders around campus admit that they would have preferred to have the quality of food increase over the construction of the new facility. One equestrian stated that they felt the covered arena “is nice to have, but not necessary.” The retention rate of students is a continuous concem for St. Andrews; how many students have tiansferred due do the lack of a covered arena compared to those who have because of the poor quality of food in the cafeteria? Of the nine million dollar grant the USDA provided the college last year, four million was to be allocated to improve education and student life. With roughly only one of the two years remaining to spend fhis^ grant, one might typically assume that spnie changes would be in progress. The equestrian program spared no time spending its allocated doUars, why hasn’t the money that was allocated to improving student life been used? St. Andrews has appeared to increase funding through a raise in tuition, roughly around a thousand dollars per student. The destruction of trees around campusmay lead one to conclude that the fimds raised from the sale of lumber are fairly significant. Yet, for some reason the promised renovations of SAGA were not completed. Regardless of whether or not the construction of the covered arena was the primary disfraction from the cafeteria renovations, the fact remains that promises made by the institution were not upheld. The student body has voiced its disappointment and feels their concerns aie valid; they are not asking for anything more then they have been promised. The quality of the cafeteria’s food and service has once again diminished. The question still remains as to whether the second phase will ever be completed; although the OSA office says ‘yes’, they are unwilling to give a projected date. However, they do say that they are in the midst of developing a program, one of much smaller scale than the promised renovations, which should please the student body. Could this program be designed to deviate thought away from the original promised plan? Christian Student Union at St. Andrews By: Lyndsey McCall X. ( Picture By: Tommy Watt) On September 8-10*^ the Christian Student Union went to Montreal, NC to a collegiate conference. There we learned that Jim Ewing, April Young, Garrett Wright, Mika Taigi, Paul Benzie, Loveya Magnus, Jennifer Armel, Justin Choplin, Lydia Brevard, Kenney Walker, Chandler Merrell, K’Hill Lesemann, Justin Jetton, Elizabeth Jones and myself are aU “Cracked Pots.” This was a great experience to bond with one another and share our Ijeliefs with whom we trust. On September 11, 2006 we started our Vesper Service. The service is open to all students and starts at 7;30pm on Mondays in the Chapel. Vespers is a short evening worship which includes singing of praise music, a presentation of the message tk)m our Chaplin and a time of fellowship. The Christian Student Union will also be helping out on Habitat for Humanity at the end of September. November 18“'-20'*‘ is our Mission Trip to Chari estoa SC; where we will also be working on a Habitat Home. Then in October, we are taking our annual trip to the State Fair in Raleigh on Thursday, October 19“'. Hopefully, CSU wiU be making another trip to Montreat, NC. If you missed the Montreat experience the first time, mark your calendars for January 4-7^. “Searching for God Knows What,” is the theme. Arrangements will be made for students that will need to come back eariy from Christmas break for this event. Check out the promotion video at www.montreat.or^. In a book called. Young Adult Ministry in the 21^ Century it says “The good news is that the church is built on relationships and community. And our relationship with Jesus is the most authentic relationship we will ever have. In John 15:13, 15 Jesus told his disciples, “Great love has no one than this, that he lay down his hfe for his friends.” And then reminded them, “I have called you friends.” The Bible says many times that we’re all connected. We’re family. In fact. Scripture says as Christians, we belong to one another.” Let us walk together in our journey of faith! For more information on any of these events or how to join the Christian Student Union please contact Lyndsey McCall at extension 5028 or the Chaplin Jim Ewing at 5146. (CSU participants: Justin Chopin, Jennifer Armel, K’Hill, Lydia Bravard, Elizabeth Jones, Justin Jetton, Garret Wright. Loveya Magpus, Paul Benzie, Kenny Walker, Lyndsey McCall, Jim Ewing, Chandkt, Merrell, April Young and MikaTanji. Picture courtsey of Lyndsey McCall)
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