SG Meeting Addresses Parking and New Dining

By Broadside Staff Writer Sonya Hudson

Student Government held its first town hall meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 3 in conference room E of the Johnson Center. This meeting focused on parking and dining services. Town hall meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month in the same location at the same time, 7:30 p.m. Claire Forman, student body vice president, hopes these meetings will serve as a dialogue between George Mason University administration and students.
These meetings serve as a forum in which students can have their questions answered by people in charge. Some future meetings plan to include representatives from postgraduate fellowships and scholarships and housing. These gatherings supply important information to students, including changes that occurred over the summer break.

On Wednesday night, representatives from parking and dining services discussed changes that are in progress on campus.
Josh Cantor, the director of Parking and Transportation, informed students of the 425 newly added parking spaces in lots A and K. Though parking has been added on campus, because of construction, not all students can park as close as they would like. Cantor suggests parking at the Field House.

Cantor argued that if students drove straight to the Field House lot, they could find parking quickly. This would cut down on the time spent driving around the closer lots trying to find a space. Students could also avoid the Patriot Circle traffic. In addition, the shuttle, which runs every five to seven minutes from campus to the Field House, would get students closer to main campus faster than they could walk from the back of lot K.

“Parking farther away can sometimes be a better option,” Cantor said.

Parking is not the only university service with recent and upcoming changes. Denise Ammaccapane, the director of Mason dining, talked about the new meal plans offered this year, 150 and 230 flex, which give students more flexibility by semester rather than cutting unused meals off each week.
Ammaccapane also discussed the changes in the JC food court. Burger King now offers breakfast, La Vincita now makes personal pizzas, World of Greens offers a better, wider selection, salad bar, and La Patisserie has changed its look and presentation for a more “Panera-like” feel, according to Ammaccapane.

These changes don’t stop at the JC. The replacement of Ciao Hall, Southside, is scheduled to open on Oct. 6. Southside will be the new and improved “all you can eat” buffet on campus, located in the Chesapeake area. Once Southside opens, Ciao Hall will close.

“I want Ciao Hall to sail into the sunset gracefully,” Ammaccapane said, “and not be blown up and put out of its misery.”

Chef Pete, the chef hired to undergo this project, has big plans for Southside. Southside seats 530 people, twice the capacity of Ciao.

“Southside will have six venues,” explained Chef Pete. Chef Pete described Southside in detail. There will be an international station, a salad bar that serves vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, freshly and locally grown options, a pizza and pasta station, a grill that will transition gracefully from breakfast to lunch to dinner, an entrée station and a dessert station. Along with this buffet style dining there will be a carry-out section, called the Gold Rush, which will be in a slightly separate location.

“I want this to be a different experience every time students walk in there,” said Chef Pete. “It’s never going to be the same. I will always be changing things around so that students can eat there all the time as a resident or commuter and always have a different experience.”

The prices of Southside will be comparable to those of Ciao Hall but the experience will be different. Southside will have a more community feel. The chefs will cook the students’ food at the stations, directly in front of the students. This will lead to more interaction between staff and students. The seating is also arranged around the food stations so that each area is almost self-contained.
This close seating arrangement allowed dining services to do away with trays, conserve water and reduce waste.

Southside will be an environmentally friendly eating facility. Mark Kraner, the Assistant Vice for University Services, is proud to say that Southside will use one third the amount of water Ciao used for washing dishes.
Southside “is going for a healthy and fresh menu variation,” Kraner said.

Kraner disclosed that the week before South Side’s grand opening, afternoon tours will be given to prepare students for this change.

Not only is Southside a new eating experience but it also has a gorgeous view of campus, according to Kraner.