SCENE THE
THE
Fall Issue 2
OCTOBER 22, 2021
THESCENEFP.COM
www.thescenefp.com
Cancel culture See page 3
Slow elevator See page 4
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
Vending machines more important than ever
Photo by Theodore Geigle
Art professor Dan Wine stands next to his self-portrait oil painting titled “Waiting” in the Gallery of Contemporary Art. At right is a sculpture by Norleen Nosri, chair of the visual and performing arts department, titled “Duo Solo.”
Gallery back in business with faculty art exhibit By Theodore Geigle The Scene staff Norleen Nosri has a thing for teapots. The Forest Park art professor has created dozens of sculptures depicting teapots over the years. “The teapot to me represents a sort of endless giving, and I like to represent that exchange in my art,” said Nosri, who also is chair of visual and performing arts. “That action of receiving and giving.” Nosri is one of about 15 faculty members showing their work in the Annual Faculty
Photo by Lillian Penick
A digital photocomposition by art professor James Bruenger is titled “Torn Between Additive & Subtractive Models.”
Exhibit in the Gallery of Contemporary Art on campus. It’s the first exhibit in the gallery since the COVID-19 pandemic closed campus in March 2020. Nosri’s sculpture titled “Duo Solo” features porcelain teapots on earthenware shelving that hangs on the wall. The exhibit also includes paintings, drawings, photos, assemblages, multimedia pieces, digital art, embroidery and even artistic music. It will run through Nov. 4. Admission is free. “The exhibit is a chance for students to see us as artists,” Nosri said. “They see us very rubric and as a teacher.” Art professor Mario Carlos specializes in paintings and other figurative art. He’s displaying an assemblage titled “Trap” in the exhibit. It’s made of galvanized wire and shelled peanuts with a black mask that represents a mouse. Carlos got the idea while looking at a bag of peanuts at his house. “When you think of peanuts, you think rodents,” he said. Carlos’s favorite piece in the exhibit is titled “Variant, Phase 1.” It’s a collection of “archival pigment prints” by photography professor Jamie Kreher. She edited a variety of photos to make them look like negatives. Kreher began studying and creating art around 1995. She earned her master’s degree 10 years later. “One of the coolest things about being an artist is that you get to make your own worlds,” she said. “And so, if you’re dissatisfied with the reality, the real world so to speak …
See Art page 2
By Theodore Geigle The Scene staff The Forest Park cafeteria closed permanently this summer, and the bookstore is only open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. That leaves vending machines as a main source of food and drink for students and faculty with afternoon and evening classes. “I’m OK with the selection, but I wish they would fill them up more,” said Julie Venesh, 18, a general transfer studies student. Venesh noted that vending machines on campus are often half-empty and sometimes they malfunction, taking people’s money and not giving them their chips or soda. Venesh said she lost about $1 in a vending machine recently. This semester, there’s been a noticeable shortage of bottled water in vending machines. That may be related to the fact that water fountains are taped off due to COVID-19. “I have had a couple students ask me about water,” said Kristine Mothershead, a biology professor.
Two companies involved
Forest Park has nearly 30 vending machines scattered around campus, according to Rodney Jones, St. Louis Community College auxiliary manager. They offer soda, tea, water, chips, candy, chewing gum, protein bars and other snacks. All of the vending machines are operated by PepsiCo or Dynamic Vending, a company based in Hazelwood. “We try to keep them in working order,” said Nicole Evan, accounting clerk for Dynamic, which operates the snack machines. Representatives for PepsiCo, which operates the drink machines, couldn’t be reached for comment. “Our supplier is having issues getting (water) in,” said Evan, noting that Dynamic operates drink machines elsewhere. “We have even checked with other suppliers, but they are having the same problem.”
Expanded food selections
The cafeteria closure has prompted Jones to expand food selections in the bookstore, adding frozen pizza, burgers
Scene staff photo
A vending machine on the fourth floor of C Tower offers a 10-cent discount off the retail price of snacks when purchases are made with cash. and Hot Pockets that can be microwaved. The college recently added a “food carousel” on the second floor of the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences that offers chili dogs, sandwiches and other refrigerated items. “We’re looking to get one in the bookstore as well,” Jones said. People who lose money in vending machines can get refunds at the Forest Park bookstore, but many don’t know it. Stickers on Dynamic snack machines provide contact information for customers who want to make “comments or suggestions.” Stickers on PepsiCo drink machines provide a phone number to report “malfunctions.” “I probably get two to three requests a month (for refunds at Forest Park),” said Jones, who oversees bookstores on all STLCC campuses. General transfer student Jacob Thoene, 18, said he lost $3 in a vending machine in the former cafeteria, which now serves as a study hall. Thoene paid for a snack with his credit card, but the snack didn’t drop from its shelf. He didn’t seek a refund. “I did not think it was worth the trouble,” he said.
“I probably get two to three requests a month (for refunds).” -- Rodney Jones, auxiliary manager for St. Louis Community College at Forest Park