August 13, 2020
The Auburn Plainsman: Welcome Back 2020
15
COMMUNITY
New, local businesses open during pandemic By CHARLIE RAMO Section Editor
Well Red: Well Red is a coffee shop, bookstore and wine bar wrapped into one. It opened its doors on June 22 in the previous Day Spring building. Owners Richard and Crystal Tomasello were inspired to open their shop after visiting the Battery Park Book Exchange in Ashville, North Carolina. “We sat there and ate, had some wine, had coffee; we sat there all day,” Mrs. Tomasello said. “We said, ‘We’ve got to have something like this in Auburn. Auburn doesn’t have anything like this whatsoever.’” Well Red has something for everyone, Mrs. Tomasello said. Students can order a coffee and study while adults can enjoy wine and desserts on a date night. A trained pastry chef makes different desserts every day. “There are a lot of different coffee shops in town,” she said. “[Well Red has] a homey vibe. You’re going to feel that as soon as you walk in through the door.”
Uniq Coffee: Located near the corner of N Gay St. and Mitcham Ave, Uniq Coffee provides locals and students with its bean-based namesake, teas and food. Owner Sam Lee opened his doors to the public in early March. “After I graduated, … I wanted to change something for Auburn,” Lee said. “I wanted to make a coffeeshop as a platform to bring in more artists [and] build relationships [with the] community.” Lee said wants Uniq to be a home to diverse coffee, good music and local art. He intentionally kept the walls white to create the feel of an art gallery, and hopes his coffeeshop can serve as a platform for local artists to show their talent to the community. In addition to focusing on art, Lee said that new brews of coffee are available every month. “We bring in different kinds of coffee every month [for customers to] taste the diversity in coffee,” he said. “[We do not want to] serve the same thing over and over again.” Despite opening during the pandemic, Uniq has seen local support from to-go orders and Lee
has hired additional employees and extended his hours in anticipation of students returning to Auburn University’s campus. WNB Factory: WNB Factory is a franchised wings-andburgers restaurant that opened near the N Dean Rd. Kroger on August 3. Franchise owner DK Lee saw Auburn as a young, vibrant city that would be a good fit for the young restaurant chain. “[Back in 2002, I went to the] Auburn vs. Alabama football game and I was shocked to see all of the students so excited,” Lee said. “At the time, I said, ‘ok, this is a city for young people.’ After I finished my studies … NATALIE BECKERINK / MANAGING EDITOR I decided to open my own business.” WNB Factory is a Georgia-based restau- Well Read in Auburn, Ala. rant chain with roughly 50 locations, Lee said. He is opening two locations in Alabama, in through Uber Eats, Doordash, Grubhub and Tiboth Auburn and in Montgomery. gerTownToGo. Lee said the WNB Factory offers high-qual“What makes us stand out is our focus on ity food at a price affordable for college stu- quality,” said Vice President and Chief Operatdents. A discount will be offered through a cou- ing Officer Robert Bales. “We try to keep our inpon book handed out to students who move in gredients very simple. Nothing is added to our on campus . WNB Factory also offers delivery ingredients.”
CAMPUS
Professors adapt to changes in student instruction By DESTINI AMBUS Reporter
While COVID-19 adds challenges for school administrators with reopening campuses, it also has forced some Auburn professors to adapt to remote instruction. In the University’s reentry plan titled “A Healthier U,” professors are required to choose a mode of instructional delivery that ‘best [aligns] with the learning outcomes of their courses.’
These modes include face-to-face courses, online courses, blended courses, and HyFlex courses; which allow students to choose if they want to attend class in person or participate online. “For the fall, my current plan is to offer blended courses, with both online and in-person components,” said Matthew Clary, a professor in international relations and comparative politics. Clary is also one of the professors
JACK WEST/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Haley Center, the home of Auburn’s College of Education.
that was able to give remote classes a trial run in the summer semesters, after the sudden switch to remote instruction in March. “During the summer I sent out a Qualtrics survey asking if people would be available in Auburn for interaction at least partially in person, and if they preferred online, face-toface or some blend of the two,” Clary said. “The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of online. It’s been a challenge maintaining flexibility to accommodate students being in several different time zones.” Robert Pantazes, an assistant chemical engineering professor, taught classes in the summer and now plans to do a blended course in the fall. He said that going online has had both positive and negative effects. “Teaching an entirely remote course this summer has had some challenges,
but they have resulted in excellent opportunities to learn what strategies are most effective for student learning and engagement in online environments.” Pantazes said. Both Clary and Pantazes plan to implement the blended course option in different ways to best fit the work of their individual classes. Pantazes is teaching CHEN 2110: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, through a flipped classroom. “This style of class [is] where students watch recorded lectures and do assigned reading outside of class meetings followed by in-class problem solving activities,” Pantazes said. “Prior to the pandemic, I had significant concerns about how to create effective recorded lectures, and therefore didn’t structure my courses this way. Now that I’ve had to learn how to make those lectures, I’m excited about the
opportunities to engage with students as they learn the course material.” Clary, who is teaching two upper-level political science courses, said if they can safely hold some class activities in person, there is merit in doing so. “I am still grappling with what activities we’ll be able to do as a class given that we will all be so distant from each other as well as how well communication will occur with everyone wearing masks.” he said. In order to (attempt to) safeguard the health and safety of both its students and faculty, The University has set up guidelines regarding the function of classes this semester. Some of these include increasing the availability of online material for students, and guaranteeing that all classes will be recorded regardless of the delivery method.
