By Jimy Kuhn ’27
On Friday, February 16th, Goucher College hosted the 18th Annual Jewel Robinson Dinner in the Athenaeum. I happened to be meandering around just before the start of the event looking for something to do so I decided to walk down and explore, to see what was going on on my beloved college campus.
Two things: Firstly, it was a formal event. There were suits and ties, so I looked very out of place in my shaggy cotton sweater and olive coat. Secondly, as I walked past the Student Store, what presented itself to me was an open bar! Hallelujah! So I, naturally, ask the bartender for a glass of wine, lean against a pillar, and watch the beginnings of the ceremony. Students from the Dance department did a wonderful number and there were good spirits all around.
Once they broke for dinner, however, I was approached by someone running the event who asked if I had found my seat yet. I replied that I was not on the list and she promptly asked for my (empty) glass of wine and heavily implied that I was not welcome there. So, I left.
This is not particularly jarring. I probably did just seem like some punk college kid trying to get a drink in. However, the context that the event was hosted in the place where Alice’s Restaurant used to stand, somewhere I used to be welcome, gives it a little more weight.
Alice’s Restaurant was demolished early this semester in response to a survey sent out regarding the hours of the Student Market and Alice’s. Following the results of the survey, it was determined that the Student Market would be open later, serving hot foods until 11 p.m., but at the cost of Alice’s, a beloved and important haunt on campus.
The impact this has on the Goucher community is huge. All of our third spaces now revolve around a single building. And while I do love Mary Fisher, it has a distinct vibe…
That of a dining hall.
It is more important to have a diverse set of locations on campus to hang out in than to have one centralized location for all things social. For example, what about those students who suffer from sensory issues and find the hustle and bustle of a busy dining hall too much? Where are they to spend their time? Or what if we are simply sick of hanging out in a dining hall all day?
Mary Fisher is simply not a replacement for Alice’s.
I feel there are certain points on this which deserve attention. Looking at the results of the survey, it seems that the fourth option to “Close Alice’s & have the Student Market open daily with hot food offerings” won the vote, but the results are not public. There’s no way to know for sure.
If that is the case, then that result is shocking to me. I have not met a single other student who voted for that option. The loss of another third space on campus is disheartening to many, so some speculation is in order.
Who are the people who would vote for the option to close Alice’s? Well, people who do not think Alice’s is important in their community would obviously vote for having more food later.
The group that comes to mind is athletes. They do not need Alice’s as a way of supporting their community because they already have a strong community built between their teammates, so getting hot food later is the obvious answer for them.
Paired with the fact that individuals wouldn’t have voted for the fourth option, thus wishing to keep Alice’s open, but were divided between three other options. It seems to me that the athletes managed to outvote the rest of the student population. My guesstimate is that each of the other options in the survey got roughly 20% of the vote each, which all together stands for 60% of the student population in favor of keeping Alice’s open, and the fourth option, to close Alice’s, got only 40% of the vote. The decision to close Alice’s was not the majority of the student vote.
This is not to blame athletes for closing Alice’s nor am I saying their want for a later food option was wrong. I would just like it to be known that the decision to close Alice’s was allowed to happen due to the results of a flawed survey. The administration will justify to hell and back that the abolishment of Alice’s was what the Goucher community wanted, but that is simply not true. The majority of students wished to keep Alice’s open.
In addition, the revelation that part of the reason for removing Alices was to make the space more appealing to those who would want to rent out the Hyman Forum for events, tells me that Goucher has higher priorities than facilitating community, despite the dire need for it on campus. Community is not flourishing on campus and the decisions made seem to disregard any attempts to nourish it. Goucher often makes decisions based on money or the needs of the students, such as getting food, which are valid reasons, but at every turn, they seem to ignore our most crucial need: Community.
Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s op-ed submission. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.
