By: Mel Roberts
The students at the University of Saint Mary are experiencing frustration with the limitations of coffee on campus. The new coffee shop, currently under renovation in the Keleher Learning Commons, is becoming more of a cost than a reward. Students are dissatisfied with the current status of the coffee shop on campus and the new guidelines that state the only places allowed to serve coffee to students are the cafeteria and the coffee shop in the KLC.
Spiro’s Cup, the coffee shop, is planned to open on November 10th. Students have been patiently waiting for the construction to finish up to finally have access to coffee this semester. The coffee shop will offer café au late, caffe latte, vanilla café latte, caramel macchiato, café mocha, regular coffee, tea, creamy hot chocolate, and a soda machine. The variety of flavors excite students, but they are tired of waiting.
Students are also irritated that they are now having to pay for coffee that they used to get for free in many locations around campus. A junior at the university states her opinion on paying for coffee on campus, “I don’t think students should pay for coffee on the campus of Saint Mary.” Some believe they are making broke college students pay for coffee that they used to get for free in various locations on campus. Students feel they pay enough tuition and deserve a free cup of coffee.
Assistant Professor of Marketing, Bethany Stanley spent her summer creating a business plan and collecting other date for the operation.
“In order for the student-run business to be successful, we must take away the other options. The goal of the coffee shop is to sell less than competition in the Leavenworth area,” said Stanley.
The coffee shop will be run by the upper-level management and marketing students as a lab. Students will run the whole coffee shop, even the manager is a graduate student. The coffee shop allows students in the business department to experience how to run a business while building their resume and interning without leaving campus. Along with this, the coffee shop supplies students with cheap and convenient access to coffee.
Zachariah Harris, a sophomore, reveals his opinion of paying for coffee on campus, “I’d rather pay for it here on campus than somewhere else.” Students need to understand that their peers are benefiting from this experience and they are also getting access to various amounts of flavors of coffee at a cheap cost, without leaving campus.
Mara Davis, a junior, shares her opinion on the coffee situation on campus.
“I think there should be more spots on campus that have free coffee for students and staff,” said Davis. Most students on campus are not aware of the one free avenue currently on campus, which is the cafeteria. It is not advertised at all on campus, nor do they make it available to get in a to-go cup. You must supply your cup to take it with, or drink the coffee in the cafeteria, which is an inconvenience to most students who need to study, but just want some caffeine.
Although students are frustrated with the current access to coffee, times will change when the coffee shop opens and students understand what the wait for coffee was all about. Some students are looking forward to the coffee shop opening.
“It will be nice to have a place to get coffee in the library while studying,” said a sophomore student.
The coffee shop is a great way for Spires to gain experience of running a business, along with a way to get coffee or an espresso drink on campus. The coffee shop plans to be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 9:30 am. The startup coffee shop will adjust based on student engagement. Depending on its success, the coffee shop will establish business hours, coffee options and jobs for students.
Coffee is the constant topic on campus, but access to the delicious coffee that everyone has been waiting for will be found at Spiro’s Cup. This will soon be the new trend on campus and paying for a cup of coffee will be nothing to students.
Melanie Roberts is a senior at the University of Saint Mary and is studying Digital Communications.
USM SPIRE-TIMES 