Volume 93/Issue ii
THE
September 9TH, 2019
ANCHOR
Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928
Donovan Dining Center: catering to food inflation Abigail Nilsson News Editor “The only thing that went down at Donovan Dining Center were the [fountain] juice prices,” said Arthur Patrie, The Director of Dining and Retail Services at Rhode Island College. Upon returning to school, students who live on campus and purchase a mandatory meal plan noticed an increase in food and beverage prices, along with an inflation of meal plan costs. Among these students is RIC Junior Emily Page who created a petition and is also helping to organize the “Don Did Me Dirty Sit In” at the dining center on Sept.11th from 12-2 p.m. “This is a problem that has been going on for a while,” said Page, “it needs to be addressed, and this is us addressing it.” Student Community GovPhoto by Thomas Crudale
Bubble, bubble, boiler and trouble Alison Darmetko Staff Writer Situated on the lawn of Alger Hall, behind the Alex and Ani building, is a hole about three feet in width that is spewing copious amounts of steam. After a week of interest and curiosity, the mysterious hole between Alger Hall and the Alex and Ani building has been identified and its origins have been explained. Below the small patch of grass situated next to Alger Hall rests a pipe that connects the building’s boiler room to the steam plant located behind Whipple Hall. This pipe burst during the
last few weeks of summer break during the Craig Lee renovations, producing the aforementioned hole and the steam that accompanied it. The rain that fell on August 28th had changed the appearance of the hole. Instead of the original steaming hole, there is now a pool of boiling mud that is still producing a large cloud of steam. Yellow caution tape now surrounds the hole to warn people from getting too close to the boiling pit. According to workers, this particular pipe has been in place since RIC was built. Meaning this pipe was installed back in 1858. When the pipe broke, steam from the boiler in Alger Hall began to escape upwards, through the patch of dirt eventually breaking
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through the surface of the ground leading to a gaping hole. This pit then began to release a single plume of steam. In other words, the cloud itself is not poisonous or toxic. The tape was put
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ernment President Joshua Percey said in an email to The Anchor, “SCG is working on a statement at this time involving these concerns.” Page feels that students at RIC deserve to be served good food for the price that they are paying. Students and alumni who signed the petition feel that the menu is lacking healthy food options while being overpriced. Petition signee, Lillian Brietzke who lived on campus for four years said, “when I got home from college this past spring my blood sugar and cholesterol were so high I was borderline pre-diabetes, but after two months of being home and not eating Don food I was back to normal.” “We recognize the need to provide options and are working to make sure the customers are aware of their options” said Patrie in re-
sponse to student health concerns regarding the food. He also said that there is a registered dietician on campus that is available to work with students and their individual dietary needs. There are currently no nutritional facts about the hot meals, sandwiches and self serve options in Don posted anywhere, but Patrie noted that there should be more information available regarding this. Patrie is working with vendors to offer more options for students while accounting for the cost of inflation. “We don’t have the luxury to have multiple dining rooms like URI, but that is why we don’t close down between meals. By not shutting down [during meal times] we can work with students and their schedules.” The Cafe is open later than Don and students can use their bonus points there. See Page 4, “Inflation”
in place to help keep people away from the unstable ground and hot vapor. The situation of the boiling mudhole is soon to be resolved and the pipe replaced. Currently, workers are replacing and repairing the pipe system between the Henry Barnard School
and Craig-Lee Hall, and are following the pipes towards Alger Hall. Workers have set up fence barriers surrounding the danger zone and have begun to move equipment over to the site, indicating the project may begin sooner rather than later.
Sinkhole on the lawn of Alger Hall; Photo by Mark Medeiros
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