Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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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 gamecockudesk@hotmail.com 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 Bt mean lave klike ilew jmmer lgs. Visit us at www.timaxx.com USE YOUR TJX VIS ®CARD when you shop with us and earn 5% rewards. Visit any store or call 1 -877-588-8TJX to apply for your card today.