Auntie Anne's Adds a New Twist to J Street

by Chris Evans

The smell of freshly baked pretzels and cinnamon has taken over the Marvin Center, as
the newest J Street addition, Auntie Anne’s, opened today.

With today's grand opening and a promise of free pretzels from 11-3, crowds gathered in
J Street with the line wrapping around the corner. The shop, which has been under
construction for months, takes the location of where a smoothie and frozen yogurt place
stood last year. Some students like sophomore Marissa Price were initially reluctant of
the change.

"At first I was mad that they were putting it [Auntie Anne’s] in because it's not healthy
like the smoothie shop was," she said, "but it'll be a good decision."

The student reviews seemed to be all positive, following the free sample. Auntie Anne's
offers more than pretzels to the anticipating student body, including drinks such as their
popular lemonade, which senior Carly Litchfield described as "refreshing and all around awesome."

The new spot, perfect for a snack between classes, offers a variety of pretzels including
salted, garlic and onion, the always popular cinnamon, and the classic original.

Though spicing up J Street's snack options, Auntie Anne's is not affiliated with Sodexo,
the company that operates most of J Street's options. Many students echoed that they
found this to be a perk, including Price who said, "I like that it's independently owned, by a super friendly married couple, not Sodexo."

One of Sodexo's higher-up managers, who wished to remain anonymous, thinks that the
addition of Auntie Anne’s adds to the good mix in J-Street that the students ask for,
though he added, "We'll see how it goes after free pretzel day. The last shop [referring to the smoothie
shop] could not compete with local businesses, we'll see if this can."

The couple who manage the GW Auntie Anne's, a popular franchise, is feeding off the
energy of the students, many agreeing with senior Daniel Katton who took no hesitation
in saying, "This is hands-down the best thing that has ever happened to J Street. No debate."

J Street Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Dining Changes

GW Dining Services officially celebrated J-Street's over-the-summer renovations with a ribbon-cutting celebration Tuesday night, complete with GW cheer team pep and an appearance by school mascot George the Colonial. President Steven Knapp cut the ceremonial purple ribbon while students snacked on samples from various J Street venues.

Over the summer, Sodexo, who is contracted out by the University to provide on-campus food, made several changes to the J Street facility, including removing the monument and staircase to create more open space and closing down fast-food restaurants Wendy's and Chick-fil-A. New venues include The Metro Diner and Thyme, serving homestyle, full-course lunches and dinners. Sodexo also renamed the returning venues.

GW administrators view the changes as an upgrade, answering students' need for healthier dining options.

"The challenge that we had before us was to bring fresh, nutritious food into J -Street," Nancy Haaga, Managing Director of Campus Support Services, explained.

Sodexo, though, knows there is still work to be done.

"We are still working, still changing, and evolving everyday," Katy Kash, the Marketing Director for GW Campus Dining, said.

One of the early issues for J-Street is the struggle for Thyme to receive business. Administrators, students and Sodexo all seem to notice that students prefer made-to-order options more than the sit-down meals Thyme offers. In the next few weeks, administrators and Sodexo plan to unveil some changes to Thyme, including adding made-to-order paninis and quesadillas to the menu.

Student Dining Board Chairman Ben Leighton is especially pleased with the new Metro Diner, which has a grill for made-to-order items.

"One of the things I've been pushing for is a grill," Leighton said. "The grill has been serving far more people than they've been expecting to everyday."

Now, one of Leighton's top priorities is to make J Street a central meeting place for special events like El Clasico, the highly popular soccer match between major Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Leighton says J Street can turn into a viewing party for such events in the future.

Indian Venue Opens in J Street

Those who have been to J Street over the past week may have noticed a chef giving out free samples of Indian food from a small table near the H Street entrance during the lunchtime rush. While J Street has had special events this semester such as the "Meet the Dietitian Program," this one was different. This tasting was to preview the new Indian venue, The White Peacock.

Starting on Monday, the White Peacock opened for a trial period in a more permanent spot, at the Burrito del Rey station. The trial will run for two weeks while Sodexo management assesses student response. During the trial, The White Peacock will be serving food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., while Burrito del Rey will serve its Mexican fare from 3 p.m. through 9 p.m.

The White Peacock serves traditional Indian cuisine such as Tandoori Chicken and Na'an bread while incorporating Vegetarian options into its menu. An entree portion is priced at $5.99, which is the same price as entrees at other J Street venues such as Burrito del Rey, Little Italy and Charlie Chiangs Kwai.

More changes could come for J Street in the future as the university readies plans to renovate the first floor of the Marvin Center. The upcoming renovation, which will remove the staircase in the center of J Street, will provide more floor space in the eatery and could mean further changes to venues. The university is also looking to keep J Street competitive in the face of new eateries opening in "The Avenue" complex on I Street.

Incoming SA President Lifton Previews Presidency

In an email interview with WRGW News, incoming SA President Jason Lifton described his priorities for the coming year and gave his opinion on a wide range of issues concerning GW students.

“We plan on working on a number of different student life and academic issues next year,” he said. “We want to focus on fixing the student organization financial process. We are going to work with Student Judicial Services to ensure that students are being properly treated when they are in violation of the student code of conduct. We also want to work on making the SA more of a resource for organizations, helping them save money and pool resources.”

Lifton said that Gelman Library needs a “technological facelift,” citing a dearth of outlets, projectors, and multimedia study rooms in the school’s largest library.

“The library needs help. I don’t anticipate this being a one-year solution, but my goal is to set the library up to be better sponsored,” he said. “They have great plans for modernization, but without the funding to do it, it will never happen.”

Get Gelman Going, a Facebook group created by students concerned with the slow pace of Gelman’s much-needed improvements, has already accumulated over 1,200 members.

Another issue on students’ minds is J Street. From limited dining options to expensive weighing stations, many students have expressed disappointment with the current state of the closest thing GW has to a dining hall.

Lifton said contracts with Sodexo make it difficult to work on J Street, but he has looked at George Mason University’s dining hall, also run by Sodexo, as a model for the ideal J Street.

“George Mason has an interesting setup that they use for dining where they have different small venues with different options. It’s not like our food court setup; it’s more of different smaller stations,” he said. “I hope that we can use that as an example to improve how J Street Works.”

Lifton also discussed methods for improving campus security, addressing inefficiencies in 4-Ride and general safety concerns around campus.

“I think that the simple solution for long wait time is more 4-Ride vans,” Lifton said in response to many students who have reported waiting upwards of 45 minutes for a 4-Ride van to pick them up. “That said, I’m not sure about the feasibility of that immediately.”

“There are a lot of things that can be done to protect students, from security in residence halls to officers on the streets,” he said. “I think that we need to make sure that UD is doing everything to educate our students about safety on campus and doing everything to protect those students.”

Lifton cautioned students not to expect big changes immediately.

“There are many smaller things that we can work on, such as the financial process and improving SA resources, but something like the library or new dining options aren’t things that we can fix in one year,” he said. “I want to finish my term as president having advocated for the issues that are big ticket items that will drastically change students’ experience at GW.”

J Street Changes Again

As returning students may have already noticed, a lot has changed at J Street over the summer. The most noticeable is the expansion of the J Street Café, making it even more like a traditional college cafeteria. The wall that used to separate J Street Café from the rest of the food area has been torn down to make room for a 33-foot salad bar, an extended hot menu bar and a dessert case. The bagel shop has turned into a high-rated kosher food option and is blessed everyday by a rabbi. Also, the pasta option has been replaced by food catered from a local Indian restaurant.

Many students will also be happy to learn that the Dining Services Commission is planning to place comment boxes around J Street and Ames Dining Hall on the Mount Vernon Campus. According to Christopher Franzetti, the Director of the Dining Services Commission, they are also planning to set up a table on particular days so that students can voice their opinions directly to the Sodexho manager.

Franzetti says that these changes will hopefully meet the demands of students and he considers that so far, this year they’ve been a big success.

- Ahna Olson

Post-Commencement Briefs

With Colonial Inauguration less than a month away and most GW students headed home for the summer, I though it was a good time to give WRGW's first summer update.

• DNC Chairman Howard Dean was on campus last week. He helped commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at an event co-hosted by the College Democrats, Indian Students Association and the Racially and Ethnically Mixed Students Association (REMIX). "The overwhelming majority of AAPI elected officials are Democrats, and we intend to keep it that way," Dean said. "Democrats have long championed the values we share with the AAPI community, including a strong work ethic, a commitment to education, and respect for families."

• Commencement was held Sunday on the National Mall with over 25,000 guests, despite a rain-filled forecast. The rain didn't start until former president Stephen Joel Trachtenburg spoke to students. As thousands of umbrellas opened, he made light of the situation by saying, "We've been soaking you for 20 years, so what's a little drizzle now?" He added, "I've been saving that line for a long time." Controversial keynote speaker Julian Bond, the current head of the NAACP and a civil rights leader, told graduates to "do well and do good." He reminded them that while they have the potential to achieve great things with the knowledge they've gained at GW, they should also focus on social issues.

• Kim Beck was drafted by the Seattle Storm last month and scored her first WNBA points last night against the Indiana Fever. She'll be coming to DC on July 20th to take on the Washington Mystics. Also in Women's Basketball news, Sarah-Jo Lawrence will be sticking around GW next year as one of the eight Presidential Administrative Fellows. She was one of 72 applicants for the 8 spots. PAF's receive full tuition and housing stipends to pursue GW master's degrees, while working with the university in various capacities.

• Major changes to J Street will occur for the fourth year in a row. The university announced that the J Street Cafe will feature more and gluten-free choices as well as greater variety for vegetarian diets. Additionally, a kosher deli will replace the current 5th Avenue Bagels. Freshmen and sophomores with unused Sodexho dining dollars will be able to roll over up to half of these funds to the following year, giving freshmen up to $700 and sophomores up to $250 in rollover dollars. Also, they announced that Campus Support Services is working with Sodexho to offer better and cheaper student catering options for student organizations.

• Also interesting to note, beginning in August, 47 graduates will teach in 19 different regions across the United States, making Teach For America the top employer for GW seniors. The university's acceptance rate in the program is 32 percent -- more than double the national average of 14.5 percent. "Public Service is an integral part of the GW experience and is embraced by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni," said GW President Steven Knapp. "We are proud that so many of this year's graduates have chosen to make this exceptional commitment."

-Mallory Thompson

Commission to Address "J Street" Woes

Tired of eating at J Street? Have way to much money left and no prerogative to spend it? That may all be changing…

As reported by the GW Hatchet, university President Steven Knapp has formed a special commission to address student concerns about the J Street restaurants. The commission includes members from the general student body, the Student Association, representatives from Sodexho and the GW Parent Association. The commission is to meet once or twice a month to discuss dining concerns and is open to anyone in the GW community.

Major policy issues being discussed include mandatory spending and weekend hours. The Student Association has already been successful this year in dealing with Sodexho, including a makeover of the freezer section to include more meats, a vegan bar, providing gluten-free items, fair trade coffee and using biodegradable napkins.

Lou Katz, the Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the university, reports an increase in the number of students dining at J Street, including those not on a mandatory spending plan. However Josh Sacks, a sophomore who attended the first commission meeting, reported that mandatory spending was immediately tabled when the issue was brought up.

But for now, there’s still two weeks to try and spend that money. Good luck and happy eating!

- Maeve Duggan