I Tuesday, Aug. 24,2010
Campus
set to lose
healthy
commons
By Julie Mastrine
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Pollock Commons is about to go
under the knife.
When the Simmons dining hall
closes at the end of this school
year, officials have said students
should not expect the addition of
another dining commons devoted
to healthy eating.
Though the renovation of
Pollock will absorb some, but not
all of Simmons’ choices, officials
said the final vision for the renova
tion is becoming more clear.
“With Simmons closing, the tim
ing is right to renovate Pollock,”
said Lisa Wandel, director of resi
dence dining.
Simmons will be converted into
residence halls, and Pollock’s ren
ovation will mostly occur during
the summer of 2011, reopening in
time for fall 2011. Summer session
students will have access to
Redifer Commons.
Pollock, which hasn’t been reno
vated since 1991, is “definitely due
for a facelift,” Wandel said. Instead
of two dining rooms, Pollock will
have multiple stations on the main
floor. Each station will have differ
ent food choices, including an
Asian grille, chef’s table, BBQ, deli
bar, soup bar, grain bar, hot veg
etable bar, salad bar, fruit bar and
pizza and pasta bar, Wandel said.
Cyclists traverse country, build houses, touch many lives
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Six Penn State students opted
out of a traditional summer of
lounging around and instead
spent their time bicycling up to 116
miles a day.
Fbr them it was all in an effort to
lend a hand in increasing afford
able housing across the country.
The Bike and Build program is
a national organization that com
bines sport and service.
Participants not only ride
across the country, they stop at
various places to help out at
affordable housing project sites.
OPEN DAILY @7 # 118 S GARNER
Simmons Dining Hall, which closes at the end of this year, is known for
its all-healthy option. Though Pollock Commons is about to undergo
changes, the dining hall will not exclusively offer healthy foods.
Current private dining spaces in
Pollock will be converted to a bak
ery and breakfast concept for daily
use by students, Wandel said.
Here students will be able to find
waffles, coffee and cereal, as well
as various desserts, such as
muffins and cupcakes.
Although it may not be imple
mented right away, Wandel said
there are plans to eventually keep
this section of Pollock open late at
night. The area will have soft seat
ing and a fireplace, she said.
The Nittany Lion Training Table
will remain where it currently is.
and a private dining room will be
added to the south side of the
building. Student organizations
and other committees will be able
to reserve this room to hold meet
ings, Wandel said.
The renovation will also add
entrances so that students will no
longer have to wait in only two
lines to enter the commons, she
said.
Wandel said no food on campus
is unhealthy if students make sure
they eat a well balanced diet.
But many students said Pollock
should have been renovated to
become the new health-conscious
commons.
The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, said Brian Nahas, one
of four Penn State students on a
route from South Carolina to
Santa Cruz.
Dave McDonald, who hiked
from North Carolina to California
in 70 days, said it was an “awe
some” experience.
The bikers provided extra man
power to groups that were build
ing houses, by doing odd jobs like
framing, roofing, painting and
landscaping, he said.
Though the students were on
separate routes, they got the
chance to collaborate on one spe
cific project.
“They should still have an entire
area where it’s all healthy food, so
it's not as tempting,” Jaime
Wesley (sophomore-psychology)
said
Victoria Maggio, who lives in
Simmons Hall, said she and her
friends eat in Simmons every day
and will be sad to see the com
mons close. “I think people will
still make bad choices, even if
healthy options are available
everywhere." Maggio (sopho
more-graphic design) said.
But while students may not like
having to make the choice
between healthy and unhealthy
foods, it is a decision they'll have
to face in their everyday lives,
Wandel said.
“It'll be up to the student to
make the right choice. We’ll incor
porate recipes from Simmons in
the other dining commons, but
we ll also serve burgers and fries,”
she said.
“But that's real life when you
walk down College Avenue, you
have to walk past places that
serve burgers and fries to get to
the place that will serve tfou a
salad."
* To e-mail reporter: jamsB7s@psu.edu
In Colorado Springs, Colo., great to see the physical terrain of on a bicycle riding an average of 75
McDonald helped lay the founda- the country in a whole new way. miles per day was the best way to
tion for a house. One week later, Nissley (senior-predmedicine) spend a summer, McDonald (sen
the bikers on the California route said he enjoyed talking to the peo- ior-aerospace engineering) said,
came through and finished the pie the team built houses for and McDonald said he had been
project. seeing the impact they were hav- involved with affordable housing
Nahas (senior-architectural ing on those lives. projects before and said though he
engineering) said it was incredible Bikers rode through deserts, had never been a serious road
to know they had all worked redwood forests, the Grand biker before, the challenge and
together to help someone out. Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, adventure was too good to pass
The best part about the experi- “It's basically an adventure up.
ence was that it provided a chance across the country with a purpose “When I heard Bike Shd Build
to not only help out a great cause, behind it,” Nahas said. combined biking with service, I
but to also explore big cities and Other highlights of the trip thought it would be’an awesome
small towns across the country, he included hiking six hours up experience something I could
said. Other highlights included Pike's Peak a 14,090 ft. moun- n't miss,” he said,
watching sunsets and sunrises. tain. Nahas said.
Biker Lance Nissley said it was Spending up to six hours a day To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu
SPA LATENIGHT
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SATURDAY AUGUST 28 10PM ALUMNI HALL
With state funds cut,
Schlow seeks donors
The library is looking to
the community for help
in the coming year.
By Colleen Boyle
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
About $52,500 of state and dis
trict aid has been cut from the
Schlow Centre Region Library’s
funding, library officials said.
The cuts are crippling the
library's resources, and in trying
economic times, library director
Catherine Alloway said she fears
the changes are permanent.
In response to these drastic
cutbacks, AUowav has looked to
the community for support.
Downtown State College
Improvement District Director
Jody Alessandrine said he hopes
those who are considering sup
porting the library should con
tribute as much as possible to
the effort.
“Schlow has been consistently
able to operate and be realistic
with their resources.” he said.
“We all know what an integral
part of the community it is.”
But the future continues to
look bleak. Despite generous
contributions from community
members, operating costs for
the library are on the rise, mak
ing the budget cuts even more
disturbing.
The contributions only make
up for this year’s cuts, not for
future losses. Alloway said, and
the library cannot expect people
to consistently donate.
Now Schlow is looking for
The Daily Collegian
other ways to increase funding.
Ideas include opening the
library parking lot in the evening
to downtown restaurant goers
and shoppers.
Additionally, those who attend
universities other than. Penn
State and use the library could
be charged a fee to cover the
cost of library staff members
who serve as exam proctors,
Alloway said.
But until the fundraising
replenishes library funding,
Schlow officials have had to cut
back on purchasing new materi
als including books and electron
ic databases.
In addition, two employees
have been laid off due to the
budget cuts.
Many of these visitors are
Penn State students who take
advantage of the quiet study
space because it is more conven
ient than the Pattee and Patemo
Libraries on campus. Nicolette
Gengel (senior-biology) said she
enjoys studying in the Schlow
facility for just that reason.
“It’s a nice, quiet place to
study,” Gengel said.
And library users may see
changes as Schlow officials
struggle to overcome financial
obstacles.
“Consequently I feel right now
the library is at the lowest possi
ble staffing for the hours we
have,” Alloway said.
“We just don’t have enough
bodies to help people in finding
things.”
To e-mail reporter: cabs3s6@psu.edu