Newspaper Page Text
ikely facing sure susp
or possible expulsion.
Also during the fi
tember in the Music
lemanding that charges for
ibusive conduct from the pre-
nous academic semester be
Friday
The Maroon Tiger
Campus News
September 6, 2002 Page 3
Gourmet Services still in place
A follow up from last semester's story on the Gourmet
Services Issue
Staff Reports
Campus News
Noticed anything differ
ent in the cafeteria this semes
ter? Not likely, since other
than a slightly different ar
rangement of furniture, very
little has changed.
Students and staff re
turned for the Fall 2002 se
mester to be greeted by the
same facilities, the
same food, and the
same faces. And it is
this last observation
that has many people
wondering about the
events that have tran
spired since last
March.
In March, The
Maroon Tiger exposed
a proposed plan by
the college adminis
tration to replace the
company that cur
rently runs the food
services at Chivers
Dining Hall and Kilgore
Snack Center, Gourmet Ser
vices, with the company that
currently runs the cafeteria at
Clark Atlanta University—
Sodexho.
While the plans were
confirmed by Omari Young,
director of auxiliary services,
it came as surprising news to
most of the Gourmet Services
employees, including food
services director, Mary
Higginbotham, who had no
idea that their employment
was in jeopardy.
Now, however, almost
six months later, our favorite
cafeteria ladies are still here
to tell us to remove our hats.
So what exactly happened?
Not a thing, accord
ing to Higginbotham. Since
she has still not received any
Students grab dinner from GSI staff
direct communication from
the school administration
concerning the future of
Gourmet Services on campus,
she said that all she and her
staff could do is continue to
improve the food and service
provided to the Morehouse
students and staff.
"This year has started
out well," said
Higginbotham, "and we plan
to continue to work to make
it better than last year."
According to
Higginbotham, since the
publication of the article in
March, Gourmet Services
has worked to address many
student concerns, especially
in respect to the Snack Bar at
Kilgore, around which most
complaints centered.
Some of the things
students can expect to see
soon at Kilgore include a
television, a stir-fry station
that will remain open until 10
p.m., and a nightly distribu
tion of snack bags.
There are also
plans to give the snack bar a
catchier name, for which
Higginbotham said student
input will most likely be
sought.
So far, according to
Higginbotham, the college
administration has given a
"favorable response" to these
and other proposed improve
ments. And, after the Maroon
Tiger-sponsored rally in sup
port of Gourmet Services last
year, student support for the
cafeteria staff remains very
high.
"We really do appre
ciate the students' support,"
said Higginbotham. "No
body has been negative, ev
eryone has been very encour
aging."
Higginbotham made
9/11 - 11/9
SPRUILL GALLERY
a final appeal to students
to continue to voice their
concerns on aspects of
their dining experience
that need to be improved.
She stressed that there are
two suggestion boxes in
the cafeteria that students
can feel free to use.
"We are always
open to suggestions on
how we can improve our
service to you,"
Higginbotham said. "We
are here for the students,
to help them in any ca
pacity we can. If it means
lending an ear when you
need someone to talk to,
or meeting special needs, di
etary or otherwise, we are
ready and willing. And I
think most students know
that already."
At press time, Omari
Young in the department of
student services could not be
reached for comment.
Security efforts rise with crime rates
Colin Hosten looks at heightened security by Morehouse Public Saftey
Colin Hosten
Campus News Editor
mtiger@morehouse.edu
If you were wondering if
Morehouse was serious about
having us wear our school ID's
at all times while on campus,
then wonder no more. They
are. An upgrade in campus se
curity has become a top prior
ity for the college administra
tion this semester.
The insistence on hav
ing ID's worn at all times
comes as an AUC-wide initia
tive aimed at keeping un
wanted, disruptive elements
off the respective campuses, a
need made all the more perti
nent by the marked increase in
violent crimes in the surround
ing areas of late.
Already this semester
there have been reports of stu
dents being victims to criminal
acts. On the first day of class, a
student on the first floor of
Mays Hall reported to Campus
Police that $200 was stolen
from his dresser drawer. The
Office of Student Con
duct & Campus Life is
currently investigating
the case with Housing &
Residential Life officials.
One day later, a
Morehouse student was
robbed at gunpoint in
front of Davidson House
en route to Clark Atlanta
University. The vjctim
identified three assail
ants. Thus far, according
to the Morehouse Cam
pus Police, the City of
Atlanta Police department has
arrested and charged only one
perpetrator for strong-arm rob
bery. The assailants were all
identified as residents of the
City of Atlanta.
According to
Morehouse Campus Police
Chief Vernon Worthy, an up
grade in campus security has
been long overdue for the Col
lege.
"Many things that
people call on campus
police to do now will be
able to be done more con -
veniently using elec-
ironic means/'
"We're still playing
catch-up with the other cam
puses," said Worthy. "We still
have a lot of improvements to
be made, but at least we're tak
ing active steps in the right di
rection.
lice chief, the mandate on
school ID's is just a small part
of the increased security mea
sures being adopted by the col
lege this semester.
Worthy and
his campus police force
plan to make use of
available technologies to
assist in making the de
partment more efficient.
Coupled with the fact
that the department is
now operating at a full
contingent of officers,
with a total staff of ap
proximately 35, this
translates into more ac
tual campus patrol time.
"Many things that
people call on campus police to
do now will be able to be done
more conveniently using elec
tronic means," said Worthy.
For example, a pro
posed card-base entry system
to preclude the need for cam
pus police to open buildings or
offices for people who have
misplaced their keys. That sys
tem is currently in the works
and should be active sometime
this academic year.
The planned October
completion of the new parking
deck on Westview Drive will
also be a help to police, as its
restricted access and increased
parking space should decrease
the need for frequent parking
patrols.
Police also now have
the technology to verify that
According to the po- Staged See SEClIRlTV page