Programming board will rock Macalester

The programming board is a great idea.

Macalester currently has three all-campus events every year: Springfest, and both the QU dances. We need more.

Springfest, frankly, just does not cut it. MCSG pays $36,000 so that the whole campus can have an excuse to get stoned. Granted, the event has some potential. But in the last three years, students have spent more time lamenting about Springfests Past than actually enjoying the event. The money keeps being spent because we have nothing else. If a programming board existed, Springfest would have to compete with other all-campus events.

One reason why the QU dance has become such a free-for-all is that it is almost the only time that the whole campus gets together to have a great time and celebrate the fact that we’re at Mac. It’s the only time that students can hang out with all of their friends, enemies, acquaintances, crushes, whatever, and lose some inhibitions and meet some new people. If we had more opportunities for socialization, the same number of people would hopefully still attend the QU dance, but it might not serve as such an outlet for heterosexual aggression. In other words, heterosexuals would have other opportunities to get drunk and hook up. And we mean that in the most positive way.

A programming board would also provide much greater opportunities for multicultural events. It would create an institutional force for cultural programming on campus that could supplement, though never replace, the activities of cultural organizations.

Finally, a series of all-campus events would enhance the community between on- and off-campus students, who currently live in highly separate social scenes.

The board would, as MCSG has said, provide students with shared experiences, and this would greatly enhance student life and the entire college experience. MCSG has taken a bold step in proposing an institution that would make a difference in the lives of Macalester students for years to come.

Students hungry for better Grille service

First, we want to say that we know that our cafeteria employees work very hard to feed Macalester students, faculty and staff good food every day, and we thank them for their hard work.

That said, can someone please do something about the service in the Grille?

First, it takes an extraordinarily long time for the food to be made, even if it is not meal time and there is hardly anyone waiting. Second, once the food is made and the cooks have said, “order up,” it often takes an inordinate amount of time for the employees behind the counter to bring that food to the person waiting. Third, when it would be easy to serve the customer first, leaving him or her happy and fed, the employees will perform other, less pressing tasks, like waiting for milk to steam or wiping crumbs off the counter.

One Mac Weekly staff member recently waited 27 minutes for a chicken piadini. Another waited 10 minutes for toast. Another waited 15 minutes for soup when no one else was in line. And many others have eaten cold food that was supposed to be hot, because it was just sitting there, fully cooked and waiting to be served.

If this is a matter of funding, of hiring extra workers or paying the current workers more, the money needs to be found. The Mac Weekly would be more than happy to pay an extra $0.25 for a Southwest Breakfast Burrito if it meant that the burrito would arrive before dinner.

But we do not think it is a matter of money. If the Grille were managed properly, service could improve immensely and the employees should not have to do any more work.

The Mac Weekly staff boasts many years of combined food service and retail experience, and we have one lesson to share:

The customer comes first. If there is an order, waiting to be given to the customer, or if the customer is waiting for a smoothie or a cup of soup, do that before wiping the crumbs off the counter. The crumbs will still be there in 30 seconds, and they will not have multiplied, but the person waiting is getting hungrier and crabbier while s/he waits. Furthermore, if one customer’s milk is steaming, you can get a cookie or soup for another customer, or distribute the orders that are already made.

Also, we miss Harold.