Sundays are a great days. It is the
day of rest for Jews because God created the world in six days and then took it
easy on Sunday. Depending on the time of year, they are usually reserved for
football, good food, friends, family, and often a good time. This past Sunday
though, I was sitting in Nagel, from 6-7, taking copious field notes on my
surroundings and judging anyone that walked in the door. What more could I ask
for?
I was surprised when I walked in
and saw a line at Salsa Rico. I mean really how many people would go to Nagel
on Sunday? I’d been there many times before because I like to mix it up between
Nelson and Nagel, and by mix it up I mean when there’s nothing to eat at Nelson
for dinner my friends and I collectively decided it’s a Nagel night. After
waiting in the short line of eight people in front of Salsa Rico and getting my
food I walked back to a table that would allow me to see the majority of Nagel.
I began to look around and observe the people around me. I didn’t want to stare
at any group or individual for too long or else it would be awkward so I kept
my head on a swivel observing things like what they were eating, how they were
eating it, who they were eating it with. Here’s what I saw.
The less than booming scene of
Nagel on Sunday night consisted of roughly a 50-50 ratio between people who
were there to eat, and people who were there to study. The studiers filled up
the booths that lined the walls and the rest of the eaters were spread out in
their respected groups at open tables. Groups of five and three were eating
dinner, a few of them had quesadillas, some had a meal swipe, and some I
couldn’t see without being too nosey. The meal swipe combo consists of one
scoop of rice and beans each, and one soft shell taco. For anyone that is
hungry, it’s not enough food. This is why I’ve developed a workaround to the
traditional meal swipe combo. It comes in the square-cardboard-to-go-oyster
type box, so the trick is to order something larger more substantial than a
taco, rice, and beans, and to make sure that it comes in the same square
container. Anyways, the groups eating dinner seemed to be purely social. Just
as my friends and I are when we are there. They also probably didn’t feel like
eating Nelson that night so they walked the distance to Nagel. I couldn’t peg
down the exact genre of music that was playing because it was more a
combination of things than anything, but it didn’t matter to me I tuned it out
and kept to my notes. I didn’t want to go as far as to eavesdrop into other
peoples conversations, but I may have heard a few things as I walked by about
some annoying residents.
Salsa Rico isn’t the only place in
the Nagel Café, although it is the only feature open late and everyday. Along
with Salsa Rico there are places where you can get pizza, chicken, and coffee
from Starbucks. Usually I opt for the chicken and double mac and cheese for a
meal swipe because it’s a lot more food for the same meal swipe combo, but they
weren’t open. The staff at Salsa Rico was wearing their usual white Sodexo chef
coats and the cashier was wearing his usual blue Sodexo shirt. The cashier
looked especially unhappy to be working that night. I could tell from his lack
of interest and body language, but I don’t blame him I’d probably hate my job
at that point too. While I was eating I noticed something that seems to happen
in every eating location on campus. Among the people eating, there are always
some that are studying. Whether it be at the Pub or even Nelson, I always see a
computer open.
Within the specific community of
DU, eating areas serve a double purpose. The first and most obvious is to eat,
but the second and maybe the one that goes more unnoticed is that once the
eating areas are cleaned up, they are a great place to study. They are quiet, clean,
and there’s a lot of room to spread out depending on the table you pick. We are
lucky to be somewhere where our cafeterias serve a double purpose. In 2006,
Princeton, yes Princeton, decided to redesign their cafeterias to make them
more student friendly. The article states, “The project is part of the University's plan to enhance the residential
college system to better serve students as well as to provide them with more
options” (Stevens). This is what DU has already accomplished by providing us
with areas that we can eat and study at the same time because they recognize
sometimes we are short on time and need to multi-task.
Works
Cited
Stevens, Ruth.
"Princeton University - Designers Chosen to Give Dining Halls Distinctive
Look." Princeton University. 31 Mar. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. <http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S14/38/16G08/index.xml?section=topstories>
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