Longer contract allows
for more dining options
Cinnabon, coffee
shop, Subway
among Russell
House additions
BY ALLYSON BIRD
THEdAMECOCK
USC has renewed its five-year
contract with Sodexho Dining
Services three times, yet, over
two decades, dining has stayed
nearly the same.
But now that the contract has
been extended to 15 years,
changes in USC food and facili
ties will become a reality.
“In the past, the five-year con
tract has placed a limit on
progress. (Sodexho) has been un
able to invest in facilities because
they might not have the contract
long enpugh for the work to pay
off,” said Helen Zeigler, director of
Business Affairs. “We are in dire
need of upgrading, modernizing.”
Changes have already begun:
Some student mailboxes have
been relocated from the second
floor of the Russell House to the
new Carolina Underground.
Every campus dining location
will undergo revamping, and new
locations, such as the Strom
Thurmond Fitness and Wellness
Center and new dorms, will have
more dining options. A coffee
shop will be installed in the
Thomas Cooper Library, and
Carolina Underground facilities
will move up in the Russell House.
“People won’t have to split up
to eat downstairs.” Zeigler said.
The old mailbox location and
other parts of the second floor will
soon become Subway,
Earthworks, a smoothie shop,
Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee
and a salad/sandwich stand. The
Student Government office will
become an Italian restaurant, and
SG offices will move to the game
room. The game room will be
moved to the Carolina
Underground.
SG held a heavy hand in decid
ing to sign with Sodexho. Former
student body Vice President
Nithya Bala was offered the op
portunity to fly to Sodexho loca
tions across the country to meet
with lawyers and contractors be
fore the decision.
Student body President Ankit
Patel said Sodexho “had a better
proposal and more aesthetic ap
peal” than the competition.
The target date for finishing
these changes is Jan. 13, the start
of the spring semester. But more
changes will come next summer.
The Grand Marketplace in the
Russell House will close in April
to prepare for a “new look, new
feel, new menu,” Zeigler said, set
to debut next fall.
As part of the proposal, Preston
Dining Hall will open for lunch
for faculty and staff. The space is
otherwise used only for dinner.
Kenneth Murphy, a fourth-year
psychology student living in
Preston, said that would “invite
people to meet people at Preston.”
Sodexho General Manager
Mike Sheffries is excited about
the new trolley, which is open
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the cor
ner of Main and Greene. It will
serve coffee, water, sandwiches
and salads, and will accept only
cash.
“The trolley is portable, so we
bring the food to the crowd in
stead of the crowd having to find
us,” Sheffries said. “There’s only
one other school in the U.S. that
has anything like it.”
Some other upcoming changes
in dining include major renova
tions to Bates House and
Patterson Hall cafeterias and in
frastructure work, as well as new
pasta options in Gibbes Court in
Capstone House.
The menu at the Sidewalk Cafe
in the John Welsh Humanities
Center, the humanities office
building, will expand, and Chick
Fil-A is open for breakfast
Monday through Friday this fall.
Taco Bell, in the Russell House,
is now staying open until 1 a.m.
“If successful, next year we
might have more options at the
Taco Bell hour or later,” Sheffries
said. “We’ll ask for input.”
Students can learn about these
changes at information sessions
at noon in the Russell House
Theater on Sept. 4 and 5.
Comments on this story? E-mail
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V
Upgraded student IDs Include
a general spending account
BY LADONNA BEEKER
THE GAMECOCK
The long lines at the Carolina
Mall, in the lower level of the
Russell House, are full of stu
dents getting their USC IDs.
Many of them are getting the
cards because they need them to
access campus buildings and fa
cilities.
Few realize all they can do
with this year’s new Carolina
Card.
The Carolina Card is more
than just an ID; it is a student’s
debit card on campus. This card
lets students shop at the Russell
House Bookstore and get into
their residence halls, among
other things. Some students
plan to get a lot of use out of
their Carolina Card. Second
year business student Roshard
Dawson says he “will use the
Carolina Card because it is eas
ier.”
“I will always carry it with
me,” he said.
Other students, such as first
year student Taj Richards, say
they will use their own debit
cards because the Carolina Card
is “complicated and too confus
ing to understand.”
Each student has one card
with two accounts: a general ac
count and a dining account. The
general account is used in the
bookstore, library, drink ma
chines and post office. The din
ing account, soon to be called
“Dining Dollars,” is used only for
Carolina Dining. Transferring
money from one account to the
other is prohibited.
Money in each account will
roll over from year to year. “It is
a win-win situation for students,”
said second-year nursing student
Jessica Rudolph.
Depositing money on a
Carolina Card is different for
each account. Students can put
money into their general ac
counts using Automatic Deposit
Machines, which will appear
soon on campus. To add money
to a dining account, students may
go to the customer service desk
in the Russell'House basement,
mail a payment to 1718 College St.
or phone 777-4161 Monday
through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. All funds will be available
immediately.
Though this Carolina Card up
grade seems to be the best way to
carry “cash”, at all times on cam
pus, many students are experi
encing kinks in the system as
they try to use the card in the
dining areas or at the bookstore.
“Timing for this semester is
off, as we fried to get the one card
system into effect before the fall.
There are still underground
wires that need to be fixed in the
software that controls the cash
registers and computers,” said
Gretchen Koehler, Carolina Card
director.
• *
“It is a win-win situation
for students.”
JESSICA RUDOLPH
SECOND-YEAR NURSING STUDENT
“Consolidation of the two ac
counts is still an idea,” Koehler
said. “Having everything done
one way will be easier and sim
pler.”
Students can view their ac
count balances by visiting the
Russell House office, going online
or checking the Automatic
Deposit Machines once they are
established. Students may not
withdraw cash from the Carolina
Card, but refunds are available. -
No refund is given for balances
of$5orless.
ID cards from previous years
woilc the same way as the newer
ones. “I believe that we will have
more of the newcomers to USC
using the Carolina Card than the
upperclassmen because they will
come into this school using the
card rather than their debit
cards,” Koehler said.
The idea of letting students
use the card off campus, perhaps
at some Five Points businesses,
is “under exploration at this mo
ment,” Koehler said. “We are in
terested in getting all of the
places on campus accessed
first.”
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamec6ckudesk@hotmail.com
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