Ranger AMARILLO COLLEGE’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1930
VOLUME 89 | ISSUE 5
November 15, 2018
Registration for spring opens By BRIANNA MAESTAS Staff Reporter
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Business administration major Kai Williams and mechanical engineering major Trent Cole stop by the Chick-Fil-A truck for lunch. The truck will remain on campus, even though the contract has ended.
AC ends Chick-Fil-A contract By SALVADOR GUTIERREZ Staff Reporter
Chick-fil-A and Amarillo College have ended their exclusive contract after three years. Although the food cart will keep serving students and faculty, the ending of the agreement will open the door for more food options on campus, according to AC officials. AC President Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart made the agreement in 2015 with restaurant operator of the Georgia Street Chick-Fil-A, Joshua Raef. Beginning Nov. 16, 2015, the fast-food restaurant began serving students and employees Mondays through Thursdays on the Washington Street Campus. Since the beginning of the service, however, students have expressed their
concerns. “AC should go over making another decision with students to get their input and strongly consider options that students and faculty can all be happy with,” Jimmy Ray Nye III, a psychology major, said. The agreement was a yearby-year contract that could have ended anytime by either AC or the restaurant. “Chick-fil-A has had a multiyear exclusive agreement with Amarillo College to have a food truck on the Washington Street Campus and that agreement officially ended on October 31, 2018,” Steven Smith, vice president of business affairs, said. Even though the deal is over, Chickfil-A continues service without an official contract. “The fact that AC decided to end the contract was because, until the end of it, Chick-fil-A was the only vendor allowed to sell food on campus. We have
chosen to move beyond the contract,” Smith said. “We want to offer a larger variety of food options to students,” he added. Students said they are looking forward to more food choices on campus, adding that prices are the main concern. “I would like to see more affordable food options that are better suited to the types of students that AC serves,” Saebryn Hanifin, a dental assistant major, said. Others already know exactly what they want to see on campus “I usually eat at Sonic, so I’d love some mozzarella sticks on the go,” Steven Osburn, a mass media major, said. According to Smith, AC plans to expand its food options by closing deals with more than one food vendor. The college recently listed two requests for proposals
(RFP) in local newspapers and contacted by phone all the food trucks with a permit. “The goal of the RFP was to contract with more than one food truck vendor and have them rotate to each Amarillo campus daily,” Smith said. “The rotation would allow the college to have different vendors each day and provide service to all campuses,” Smith added. Smith also said that AC officials want to provide food services to all campuses and have a variety of options for students. “For that reason, we have not signed another exclusive contract which leaves us the ability to continue to seek more food options,” Smith said. So far, however, Chickfil-A is the only vendor that has submitted a proposal, he said.
Amarillo College and West Texas A&M University have joined forces in the creation of Destination WT. This new agreement means that everyone enrolled at AC will now also be guaranteed admission to West Texas A&M. Upon declaration of an Associate of Art or an Associate of Science major, AC students will be admitted into WT. “You’re in if you want to be in and you will actually have to opt out of this agreement otherwise. This partnership is there to make it easier because it means you are already streamlined to get into WT,” said Joe Wyatt, assistant director of communications and marketing. Transfer checkups will be available, which means students will have access to both an AC and a WT adviser upon enrollment at AC so that they can ensure the right path for the smoothest transfer. A student planning module can be set that helps students understand what classes will and will not transfer with them at WT. “It puts me at ease knowing I have a security blanket with this program when going to WT,” Jordan Gipson, a mass media major, said. Students who have 60 credit hours and at least a 3.5 gradepoint average will be granted a WT scholarship regardless of financial need. “I like that every student is basically guaranteed a scholarship,” Nazario Maestas, a general studies major, said. This agreement will go into place in the spring of 2019 but some features may not be available until fall of 2019, college officials said.
College hands out Thanksgiving bags By BLASS GUERRERO Staff Reporter
On Thursday, Nov. 15, the Amarillo College Advocacy and Resource Center will be giving out Thanksgiving bags, filled with items to prepare a full Thanksgiving meal for each student. The tradition was started by Lynae Jacob, retired speech chair and adjuct speech instructor, in 2014 with only 75 bags and throughout the years it has increased to 500 bags, helping to serve more students. All items in each bag have been donated by AC employees and Amarillo community members. Jordan Herrera, director
MARC PAMPLONA | The Ranger
Judith Lara, social services assistant to the advocacy and resource center, helps pack the Thanksgiving bags. 500 bags will be given to students this holiday season.
of social services, said it’s important for AC to do this. “At Amarillo College, we know that many of our students are
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food insecure and we wanted to do something special for them to help ease the costs of the holidays,” she said. “By
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providing a Thanksgiving bag to a student, we are able to relieve a little bit of their financial burdens.” The bags include French fried onions, sweet potatoes, biscuit mix, stuffing, cake icing, a $10 gift card to United or Walmart to go toward a purchase of a turkey and other items. Students who received the bags in the past said this service has helped them through difficult times. “I work and go to school fulltime and it’s really difficult, especially during the holidays, to be able to go shopping or even able afford food while in college,” said Stephanie Medrano, a nursing major. Students will be able to
pick up a bag Nov. 15 from noon to 2 p.m. or until the bags run out. Bags will be available at the Washington Street Campus in the Oak Room, East Campus at the Student Service Center, West Campus at the Lecture Hall, Moore County Campus in Dumas in Conference Room B and the Hereford Campus in Room 139. The Advocacy and Resource Center operates the food pantry, giving students food and hygiene products twice a month; the clothing closet, giving students in need clothing and shoes and the Social Services Program, helping students with emergency needs and connecting them with resources on campus.
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