THE MARLIN CHRONICLE THURSDAY 10.6.16 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWC.EDU ||
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Things heat up at the Grille Word has it that service is slower — explanations vary
BY SARAH ANTOZZI scantozzi@vwc.edu
Wait times are much longer than they used to be at the Marlin Grille, the school’s other dining option besides the cafeteria, according to the campus community. “The Grille is significantly slower than in past years,” senior Taylor Boyd said. The Marlin Grille consists of three stations: Sandella’s Flatbread Cafe, which sells paninis, wraps and small pizzas; the Grille proper, where one can buy foods like chicken tenders and burgers; and the Freshens Smoothie center, which shares a cash register with a convenience-storestyle area selling coffee, salads, sandwiches, yogurt and other snacks. One student reported that Sandella’s closed earlier than it was supposed to on at least one evening during the week of Sept. 11. “It was 8:15 and I was really hungry because I had missed dinner that day,” senior Gabrielle Freese said. She went up to Sandella’s to order a wrap. “This girl
came over...and said, ‘We’re closed.’” Freese said that when she responded that they were supposed to be open until 8:30, she was told, “We don’t have enough staff to keep this open,” and “I have to do my homework just like you do.” Senior Kathryn Reavis has worked at the Marlin Grille for three years. She said that in recent weeks Sandella’s has occasionally been closed when none of the workers on duty have been trained at that station. Sandella’s is the most challenging of the stations to work at. Reavis said that most of the workers are trained at the grill station, which is “so much easier” than Sandella’s. Gloria Louis, a non-student worker, agreed. “That station is a challenge because you have to be able to multitask right away,” she said. “It’s kind of tough. You can burn stuff very easy over there.” She said that she will only put workers over there if they
Ashlei Gates | Marlin Chronicle The Sandella’s Flatbread station at the Marlin Grille is closed at 8 p.m. on a Friday. have proven they are able to handle it. “Sometimes people don’t have the flexibility that we might be looking for in order to fully have a shift covered,” she said. “They’re students first, and that comes first. We take education very seriously.” In addition, Reavis said, the severe flooding that the region experienced the week of Sept. 19 caused some workers to be unable to come to work then. However, other workers say that if there were more non-student workers, the difficulty of scheduling work shifts around student workers’ class times would not present such a problem.
“We are very, very, very, very understaffed,” said Louis. She has worked at the Marlin Grille for 10 years, and is affectionately known to VWC students as “Mama Gloria.” According to Louis, it takes “five bodies at a time...five people to run the Grille. This is no joke.” As the only non-student worker on duty in the Grille for the evening shift, she has to supervise all the stations. New student workers in particular need help. For instance, Louis said, the day before, a customer brought back the chicken tenders a new worker had made, because “they were raw.”
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Presidential Election 2016
School divided as election nears Debate arises as to whether methods to get students involved in the presidential election across campus will be effective enough to make a difference BY MICKELLA RAST mjrast@vwc.edu
Miranda Fein| Marlin Chronicle National Poetry Slam 2014 champion Clint Smith speaks in the Convocation Center.
Marlins fight fear Poet and educator Clint Smith gives talk in discussion series “Standing Together in a Culture of Fear” BY MIRANDA FEIN mlfein@vwc.edu
On Friday, Sept. 30, The Lighthouse held an event titled “Standing Together in a Culture of Fear” to discuss creating a positive change in a culture of fear. The guest speaker for the event was Clint Smith, a writer, teacher and Ph.D. candidate from Harvard University. “I’m going to be sort of like a non-traditional talk. Keynote: I’m a poet so that is my disposition, my orientation. That is the lens through which I see the world and often how I sort of articulate the way I understand the world,” Smith said at the start of the talk. Smith held true to his opening statement. His talk was in part a performance in which he shared his poetry. The key focus of many of his poems revolved around the issue of race and how racism has shaped not only his life but also the world around him. Selections from Smith’s newly published book of poetry, “Counting Descent,” were also included in his performance. Smith urges his audience to consider the exceptionalism that is embedded into American thinking, to question the norms
that have divided races since the birth of the nation and to actively participate in closing the divide. In doing these things, we stand together against the culture of fear created by hatred, violence and discrimination. Smith mixes his poetry in with educating discussions about the history of black people in America. He said that so much of his poetry aims to capture the violence that black people are perpetually exposed to while also capturing the joy and wonderful things that represent the culture in spite of everything. “I really think that sometimes people do not fully reckon with the full history of oppression of black people in this country,” Smith said. Smith’s closing poem emphasized the importance of voice and the danger of silence. “We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don’t. Silence is the residue of fear,” Smith wrote in one of his poems.
Over the past few weeks, a new kind of madness has spread across campus. Joining the rage for pumpkin spice and study cram-sessions is the chaos of election season. Posters cover walls, banners loom over hallways and buttons sporting a cheerful “Marlins Vote” litter campus surfaces. The first of three presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was televised Monday night. The event has spurred an increase in political discussion and involvement in communities across the country. Virginia Wesleyan College is no different, as faculty and students alike have begun raising awareness about the impending presidential election and its impact. The movement stems from a wish to increase voter turnout for young adults (particularly college students) and is aided by the joint efforts of Marlins Vote, the Office of Community Service and the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom. Their goal is to register as many students to vote as possible, while increasing campus interest and involvement in the election. President of the Student Government Association (SGA) Nich Hipple believes students are getting more involved every day. “I have seen a large buzz on campus
discussing the election, and have also seen a large group of students trying to register other students [to vote],” Hipple said. “I don’t see that push,” disagreed Jared White, president of College Republicans. “For some reason there’s not a move, which is disappointing.” He suggested that a lack of immediate impact on college students may be a source of the disinterest. What both White and Hipple are able to agree on is the importance of the election and the impact candidates may have on issues regarding education. The three chief disputes on this topic are the abolition of the Department of Education (which would leave school funding and regulation up to each state), government refinancing of student loans to lower interest rates and the potential decision to make college tuition free for students whose families earn $125,000 yearly or less. However, the discussion of these issues and the college’s efforts to encourage voter registration may be in vain. Some students involved in the election claim that their involvement has nothing to do with any event so recent as the first presidential debate or the push for election awareness. Family allegiances, personal views and political standpoints were all formed early on.
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Meet senior Tone Boykins in this issue’s Senior Spotlight
Many still left devastated following Harambe’s death
page 3 COMMUNITY
page 5 OPINIONS
Ever wondered what really happens when the sports teams travel?
Students enjoy messy fun at the annual Mud Games
page 7 SPORTS
page 10 WEEKENDER