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Lauren Hobar abd Megan Calley check out the HAWC'sPepperdine students returned from Spring Break to find a revamped Howard A. White Center, something of a convenience store on campus for students, offering everything from peanut butter and jelly to macaroni and cheese.
“We worked like you wouldn’t believe it,” Operation Manager Samir Khalil said. “We did it the two weeks before you went to Spring Break. We did it for you guys. We were trying to get you everything you need, trying to prevent you from going to the store, for those with no cars.”
Apparently, everything you need includes ice cream.
General Manager Gene Perkins joined with Housing and Community Living in creating a survey last semester for students on what their top 20 items would be for a convenience store on campus. Ice cream was No. 1. Thus, Ben and Jerry’s in the HAWC. Lots of it.
“We’re selling so much that we almost can’t get enough delivery to keep us full,” Perkins said. “Students are buying up things faster than I can get them in or store them.”
Since the ice cream came to the HAWC, it is now being carried in the Waves Caf as well. “It’s one of the things that spilled over to help everyone,” Perkins said.
Students can now buy items like Ritz Crackers, Campbell’s Soup, burritos and pizza pockets. A wider selection of chips now lines the counter where Starbucks coffee is served.
Students are responding with satisfaction.
“We’re getting all kinds of e-mails from people telling us how much they love it,” Perkins said.
“It feels more crowded, but I like the variety,” said freshman Steven Rowe. “I like the Nutrigrain bars for breakfast. Oh, and the Haagen-Dazs is good. That’s all I know.”
It’s not all about the ice cream, though. The recent additions of breakfast foods — two types of Nutrigrain bars, energy bars and boxes of Raisin Bran — ensure snacks for the health-conscious and allow on-the-go students to grab something before class.
The additions may ease hunger and make for a more convenient snackbar, but it doesn’t ease congestion.
“There’s at least 30 percent more people now,” said supervising manager Ragy Girgis, before adding jokingly, “I quit.”
Girgis is one of several employees who work to keep the HAWC open from 7:30 a.m. to midnight during the week. Normal operating hours have not changed, and this is good news for late-eaters who find the Caf closed by 8:30 p.m.
“This gives you guys more options after the Caf closes,” Girgis said. “Everybody’s happy with the products.”
Not everyone is happy with the presentation of the new HAWC.
“I definitely don’t like the black windows,” said junior Kurtis Shaner. “I can’t see if there’s a line in there or not.”
But Khalil notes it’s all for a purpose.
“We black the window so people don’t see the back of the cooler,” Khalil said. “We make it simple.”
Shaner said he rarely uses the new services because he is not on the point system. “Most kids don’t worry about it,” said Shaner, “but the people without points do.”
In fact, Perkins has advice for those with points to spare.
“I would advise students to be careful not to use up all their points,” he said. “We still have half a semester to go.”
Students are also advised not to buy too much in bulk.
“If a student buys a dozen pints of ice cream, it might be a third of my stock,” Perkins said. “So for the time being, we’re going to limit five of any item so we can have the maximum amount available to the maximum amount of students.”
White, wheat or sourdough bread, Ritz crackers or Wheat Thins, Pop Tarts or popcorn, desert to detergent, the new HAWC offers more than it did before Spring Break.
“The negative part of all of this is we don’t have room for everything,” said Perkins said. “We have been talking about possibility of expanding facility we have now; one of the options is to take away one of the restrooms and expand the store in that area, but that requires a lot of work and permission, but that’s what we’re working toward. It could happen during the summer, we could open for a larger, nicer space for the fall.”
Perkins also invited students to share their preferences with HCL.
“We’re looking to get students to write comments about what they want in the future,” Perkins said. “If we do increase the size of that space, we’ll be able to stock more items as well.”
Why did they do it?
“The real simple answer,” Perkins said “is we really listen to you guys. When you tell us things, we can’t always do it, but when the time is right we always do the right thing.”
Submitted 03-17-2005
MALIBU, CA
