Cafeteria staff works hard for students
By Harold Freeman
Staff Writer
Backpacks and books are
scattered on tables throughout the
room while the sultry sounds of
R&B singer Faith fills the air.
Along with loud students and the
sounds of forks clanking against
plates, hungry students grab eating
utensils and push trays along the
railing in the kitchen as they pick
out their entrees for the day from
behind the glass sneeze-guard. The
students are enjoying the cafeteria.
Upon exiting with their food,
students take a glass out of the rack
next to the doorway. Amidst the
array of fountain drinks available/
most students create their own
blend of fruit punch, Sprite and
lemon punch.
Students perform this ritual
daily, and most are thanl^j^fpr the ■
on-going efforts by the-staff of
Shaw Food Services Gompany to
keep them happy.
“We have a very vocal group of
students and if they were not
happy, I know we’d hear about it,”
said Eugenia Millender, food
service director. “Come and look
at the dish room, the plates are
empty. We must be doing
something right.”
She stated that the cafeteria is
here for everyone to enjoy. She
encourages all students to come
and in and eat.
Boarding students
Photo by Brion Anim-Addo
Cafeteria staff member, Charles Smith, prepares dinner for the students to enjoy.
automatically receive meal plans
with their housing for the semester,
however, non-boarding students
who wish to eat in the cafe may do
so by purchasing their own meal
plans or paying for meals
individually for approximately $2.
Still, some students feel the
cafeteria staff can do more to
accommodate tfem.
Renita Pruitt, a freshman child
psychology major from Virginia,
stated that the food has no taste and
it’s hours of operation are not
convenient.
“The food is very bland,” she
said. “The food needs to be more
nutritious and less greasy.”
She also said that she would like
to see the meal times changed to
allow for longer service.
“Breakfast and dinner are
served too early,” she said “I always
have to rush to the cafe.”
In spite of students personal
criticisms, Millender says the food
program is good and could be
better if students would
communicate with her and work
toward a solution that can please
everyone.
“I think that is a very good deal,
you get to eat as much as you like,”
she said. ”But if you don’t see
something you want, tell me and
I’ll whip-out some recipes.”
For any student who requires a
specific diet due to health problems,
one can be arranged by contacting
either of the food service directors.
“We have a variety of low-fat and
low-sodium recipes we can use to
prepare special dishes for those
who need them,” said James
Gotten, the assistant food service
director.
In an earnest attempt to please
everyone who eats in the cafe, the
food service program has non-pork
dishes and vegetarian dishes as
well.
“You can actually see that they
are making an effort to please the
students,” said Sharonda Brown, a
senior majoring in
communications. “You can
actually see the changes.”
However, despite the changes
on the menu, the cafeteria staff still
asks that students not abuse the
buffet services allowed them.
“The service is buffet; all you
can eat -while you are here,” said
xMillender. “Not all you can eat,
then carry off to your room for the
week.”
She says some students do not
realize that by taking an abundance
of items, such as juice, creates a
financial problem over time.
“When a student takes a jug full
of soda, they are emptying the
whole container that we’ve
bought,” she said. “That $1 soda
is now $25 to us.”
A final request that they have is
that students be a little cleaner
while eating, and refrain from
taking dishes and glasses from the
cafeteria. When students take
glasses, they have to be replaced.
“I know they want to have
plates in their rooms, but they can’t
take ours,” Millender said.
New law class aims to be benefidal for students in the long run
By Harold Freeman
Staff Writer
For most of us, understanding
contracts and financial obligations
can be intimidating upon
appearance; in fact, we encounter
this twice every school year and
don’t even realize it. It can be as
simple as signing a name on a form
or by verbally saying the word “Yes”
on a telephone. There are many
traps that students can fall into,
unknowingly. Many businesses
exploit this-some even prey on it.
What can students do to keep
from becoming targets? The first
step may be to enroll in a new
course offered by the Department
of Urban and Social Studies
entitled Personal Law; taught by
department chairperson, Gerald
Jarrett.
Jarrett is putting forth new
concepts and ideas in an attempt
to educate all students, not just
criminal justice majors. He keeps
his classes interesting and
educational.
With his vast experience in law
as a former judge and attorney,
Jarrett has seen first hand what can
happen to young adults who do
not know their basic rights.
“Any law that is passed, must
treat everyone equally, or it is
unconstitutional,” Jarrett told
students during a class session.
Formerly with the New Jersey
Public Defender’s Office, Jarrett
began teaching at St. Aug’s in 1997.
Jarrett said while working in New
Jersey, he had seen everything that
can go wrong with the court system
that state.
A New Jersey native and alumnus
of Seton Hall University, Jarrett
attributes God for bringing him to
North Garolina. Having family
members already in the triangle area
was just an additional incentive.
“Enjoyable students have made
being here enjoyable,” Jarrett said.
He explained that many students
are called upon to take adult
responsibilities, despite not having
a firm understanding of basic law.
He said the idea is to keep students
out of courts using the class as a
preventive medicine. He added that
students need to expand their
horizons.
Jarrett’s Personal Law course
deals mainly with civil law and
contractual agreements, which
documents are legally binding and
which ones are not and by discussing
the possible penalties one might
face. The class also deals with
interstate and intrastate commerce
statutes as well as administrative case
law. The course discusses almost
every aspect anyone can come into
Photo by Brion Anim-Addo
Jarret has big plans for the students who enroll in his new law class.
contact with dealing in the law.
The text even has a GD-ROM
inside that allows students to create
easy-to-use contracts.
Unfortunately enrollment in
the course is low and Jarrett hopes
for higher attendance next fall once
the word has spread.
Even so, the students who are
presently enrolled in it are glad it
still exists.
“Everybody should take the
class,” senior, Tamika Sykes, said.
“It deals with things from everyday
law. It should be a required
course.”
Sykes is not alone in her
personal assessment of the class.
Her classmates also agree that it is
vital for college students--
adolescents too—to have some basic
knowledge of both the criminal
and civil court process. Many of
them had to learn the lessons the
class teaches the hard way which
could become expensive over time.
Jarrett said that some problems
he heard about in class deal with
lease agreements, loan repayment
or students not being accurately
informed about laws pertaining to
checks, particularly postdated
checks.
Senior, Gharles Hunter says he
learned about financial legalities
first-hand. There was no class to
prepare Hunter early on in his
academic career, but he wishes
there had been.
“I feel the class is good for
everyone,” Hunter said. “Everyone
can benefit from it.”
Jarrett believes that students in
the south have an advantage.
“The difference between north
and south is the attitude,” he said.
“Officers are more sociable here.”
He says that incidents in New'
Jersey that have gained national
notoriety illustrate all the serious
problems with the court system -
from police officers who violate
fourth amendment laws to public
defenders who don’t go to bat for
their clients. He says knowledge
is the key to keep from becoming
a victim and he wants all students
to possess it.
In conjunction with Stan
Elliott, another instructor in the
department, Jarrett is trying to
create courses that will benefit all
students. He says that this class
may be the first of many more in
his department’s curriculum.
As of right now this class is only
offered in the Fall. Jarrett hopes
that in the future, Personal Law
will become a required course for
all St. Aug’s students.