Rachael Ferry: The Triangle

On March 22, the Insomnia Cookies truck parked on 33rd St. was subject to nine citations, three of which are considered serious violations, following a surprise visit from a health inspector from the Philadelphia Department of Health and Office of Food Protection.

Among the violations listed in the report were a lack of hot water, employees not knowing the proper “handwashing procedure,” evidence of insects and rodents inside the truck, and defective equipment in need of repairs. All nine of the issues were noted as being new violations. Nonetheless none of them were resolved during the inspection, unlike the other vendors being cited, such as the New York Gyro cart across the street, which was able to fix all 4 of their discrepancies before the inspector completed the report.

“We may not have any immediate changes, but the inspection was about two weeks ago, and we’ve been taking care of everything the health department pointed out,” Shannon Pacheco, the manager of the Insomnia truck on 33rd, said. “A few of the problems could have just been mistakes made by someone new, or someone still being trained, and most of the others we already knew about and were already in the process of fixing,” Pacheco continued.

Prior to 2015, the Department of Health did not release their reports to the public until 30 days after the initial inspection, allowing for establishments to correct any mistakes or risk factors before being checked again and given a revised score. This was changed when citizen complaints arose around the fact that Philadelphia was the only major city in the country to abide by this policy. Originally, this 30-day policy was designed to encourage the education of restaurant owners or managers, and the consequential improvement of their business.

Following this change in inspection practices, the number of violations cited on public health inspection reports has increased dramatically, including the case of the Handschumacher Dining Hall. Last November, the Hans was reported to have broken nine separate health codes, while the year before it had only received one citation.

“I think not giving us time to take care of the problem is a little unfair, especially since our grade is public to everyone,” Pacheco explained. “But I want to say that I don’t think the health department as a whole is unfair or unimportant. Of course we’re more than happy to cooperate with them and appreciate how important the department is to the well being of everyone in the city.”

The Insomnia Cookies truck does not plan to close while these violations are being remedied. The truck will be open for business during its normal hours on Chestnut Street between 33rd and 34th streets until roadwork is completed between 33rd Street and Market Street.

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Drexel University is hosting the Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association 2016 Conference, with events scheduled to take place March 18 and 19.

The MAWCA is a regional affiliate of the International Writing Center Association, with membership extended to colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia metropolitan area. MAWCA fosters networking between the development of writing center professionals, including student tutors, with small events and workshops throughout the year as well as a larger, annual spring conference.

This spring Drexel was asked to host the annual conference as a member of MAWCA, and also as an institution that exemplifies the mission of MAWCA.

“The way it was explained to me is that they [MAWCA] choose writing centers and writing center directors that they feel are a sort of model for the region, or are doing new things and exciting things,” Janel McCloskey, the assistant director at the Drexel Writing Center, said.

McCloskey is responsible for organizing the conference on the university’s behalf, and has been involved in the planning for the past two years.

“The Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association approached me in the fall of 2014 and asked me if I would host the conference, and then I went about getting the proper permissions from the university last year, which actually took quite a while,” McCloskey explained. “We developed a theme for the conference, but it’s a little bit of a nontraditional conference in that we’re not having one keynote speaker; we’re having a keynote panel and they’re not people in the field of writing centers, which is very strange for a conference, and instead of giving a speech they’re going to have a conversation with the audience.”

Joseph Kavanagh: The Triangle

This panel will include three speakers: Jessica Weber, Alex Hillman and Jimi Davies. Weber is a writing consultant for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where she established a workplace writing center in November 2013. Hillman, meanwhile, is best known for co-founding Indy Hall, one of the first co-working communities in the world. Lastly, Davies is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the post-grunge band Jimmie’s Chicken Shack.

The panel, in addition to a more standard Question and Answer session, will involve each of the panelists introducing a problem in their respective fields and asking the audience to respond with potential solutions. The hope is to create an atmosphere of communication and synergy not unlike that found in professional world outside of academia.

“The audience is a good mix of students, administrators, and faculty. I’d say it’s about 60 percent students,” McCloskey estimated. “It’s mostly writing center tutors that go, and they are going to both present  their own research and are going to learn about other people’s research and how to improve what they’re doing.”

One such presentation is to be helmed by a duo of Drexel students, junior Lauren Lowe and first-year graduate student Jen Jolles. According to the conference program, their presentation, “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen,” revolves around asking the question, “What happens when we situate our pedagogies in public sites beyond the classroom?”

Joseph Kavanagh: The Triangle

“We’re writing about our experience at the writing center at Dornsife,” Lowe said. “Jen’s going to talk more about her duties as a graduate assistant. She’s been helping Rachel [Wenrick, an associate English professor and associate director of the DWC] more, in terms of teaching and also helping with the nonfiction class, and doing more of the behind the scenes work with the anthology that will be released later,” Lowe explained.

“I’ll be talking about how I’ve been doing independent study with Rachel out of Writer’s Room for independent studio credit… So we’ll be talking about how the three communities, Drexel faculty, Drexel students, and then Mantua and Powelton community members come together and create that kind of culture in the workshop,” Lowe continued.

Running through each presentation of the conference is a common theme: the importance of collaborative work.

“The theme is dealing with collaboration, which is really central to working in writing centers, and the idea that the kind of collaboration that people do in writing centers is a very transferable skill in the world outside the university, in industry and business and the arts,” McCloskey said. “That kind of collaboration is what leads to innovation and synergistic relationships that push fields forward.”

The 2016 MAWCA conference will be held in MacAlister Hall and the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 18 and 7 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 19.

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Beginning in fall of 2016, the Science Leadership Academy will be opening a new middle school in the Dana and David Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, renting a portion of the Center for at least two years before relocating to the former University City High School site.

The Science Leadership Academy is the embodiment of a partnership between the School District of Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute, distinguished for its college-prep curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. With a campus in Center City and another in West Philadelphia at Beeber, the school has been recognized as one the Top Ten Amazing Schools in the U.S. by the Ladies Home Journal — an honor attributed to their project-based mode of learning emphasizing core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection.

Photo courtesy: Science Leadership Academy

In 2012, the Philadelphia School Partnership awarded $215,000 from the Great Schools Fund to  SLA, after being selected by the PSP Board of Directors. The goal of the fund is to reform low-performing schools, expand high performing schools, and create brand new high-quality schools based on the recommendations of an investment team.

“These recommendations address parental demand for better academic programs in safe, familiar environments while presenting rigorous and engaging opportunities for students,” according to Superintendent William R. Hite in a statement.

Upon the SLA receiving this grant from the PSP, the academy began moving forward with its plan for the establishment of a middle school, to act as a complement to its dual high schools. The academy’s vision of a University City area middle school attracted the attention of Drexel’s Office of University and Community Partnerships, the University’s center for civic engagement, and the two institutions fostered a relationship.

Drexel’s interest in the community outreach, and the improvement of public education in particular, was explained by the Vice Provost for University and Community Partnerships, Lucy Kerman.

“The cornerstone of Drexel’s community revitalization effort is education and a commitment to improving public school options for families in the neighborhood,” Kerman said.

“We look forward to working with our key partners on a more comprehensive approach to school improvement and the development of high-performing public schools,” he continued.

Prior to becoming involved with SLA, Drexel associated itself with Samuel Powel Elementary, a K-4 public school in West Philadelphia, which could benefit from the establishment of a nearby middle school for their exiting students.

According to Timothy Boyle, a teacher at SLA who was chosen to become the future head of the middle school, SLA is eager to incorporate the curriculum of Powel into that of his school. “We’re excited to bring the quality of a magnet school education to a neighborhood school setting,” Boyle said.

“The new school will marry the successful educational approach of [Samuel] Powel Elementary with the innovative model used by Science Leadership Academy. Our plan is to develop a school that’s specifically created to serve the needs of the future SLA-MS students,” she continued.

Among these needs is a close proximity to students’ homes, and the Dornsife Center offers an accessible location for young students in West Philadelphia neighborhoods. Beyond just location, Kerman believes Dornsife possesses other favorable qualities as the site of a secondary school. “We’re delighted to host SLA-MS at the Dornsife Center in the coming years,” Kerman said. “It is a perfect fit: we can provide beautiful space during the school day and explore community school programming after hours with expanded Dornsife Center offerings,” he went on.

While SLA-MS will initially include only a small class of 90 students, their hopes are to eventually grow the school to include more than 500 fifth through eighth graders. Consequently, the less-than-spacious Dornsife Center will be replaced with larger, permanent facilities on the former site of University City High School, presently a Drexel-owned plot. However, both Drexel and SLA are determined not to allow their partnership to end there.

“The new Science Leadership Academy Middle School is part of an overall strategy to create more innovative schools in The School District of Philadelphia,” Hite continued in his aforementioned statement. “This school scales Philadelphia’s successful Science Leadership Academy model into the middle grades. We are excited to form a deep partnership with Drexel University around this academic model.”

Kerman emphasized that Drexel is mindful of its impact on the city as well.

“From the University’s perspective, we know that quality public schools are essential to keep advancing the progress of Philadelphia today,” Kerman said. “We have a lot of young people moving into the city. We know they won’t stay if there aren’t strong educational options. It’s in the best interest of all universities to support public education,” he concluded.

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Following a food and safety inspection Nov. 24, the Handschumacher Dining Hall, managed by SodexoMAGIC, was cited having nine food safety violations. This sudden spike in code violations was part of the first of a wave of a new city-wide release policy that requires restaurant health and safety inspections to be published within 24 hours of the visit by Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

From 10:25 a.m. to 3 p.m., a city health inspector combed the dining hall and noted unsanitary conditions and corrected poor service practices. A number of violations were discovered, including the presence of faulty machinery, improper food storage and preparation, and mouse droppings. It should be noted that each of these missteps was marked as a new violation, implying that the Hans has not had these problems in the past.

In response to the less-than-immaculate report, Jackelyn Gemenden, the Director of Retail Management at Drexel, said that the dining hall has taken action to remedy the situation.

“Drexel Campus Dining and SodexoMAGIC take the November 24, 2015 findings of the Philadelphia Board of Health report for the Handschumacher Dining Center very seriously,” Gemenden said.

“Several of the items were corrected on site in the presence of the inspectors and the remaining violations were resolved over the Thanksgiving break. It is standard practice for the Philadelphia Board of Health to re-inspect the location within 30 days,” she continued.

Prior to 2015, the Board of Health did not release their reports to the public until 30 days after the initial inspection, allowing for restaurants to correct any mistakes or risk factors before being checked again and given a revised score. This was changed when citizen complaints arose around the fact that Philadelphia was the only major city in the country to abide by this policy. Originally, this 30-day policy was designed to encourage the education of restaurant owners or managers, and the consequential improvement of their business. The change is evidenced by the Hans’ 2014 report, in which the establishment was cited with only one violation.

Regardless of the impact of this new policy change, many students are displeased, if not unsurprised, with the results of the Hans’ health and safety inspection report. Among these students is Freshman Ian Donahue, a frequent visitor of the Hans.

“I’m not really surprised… the food’s not amazing, it’s just cafeteria food basically. I just come back because of my meal plan. You could always go to Urban [Eatery] instead but I come here because there’s lots of variety,” Donahue admitted. In reflecting on the fact that the Hans will be inspected again in a month for a follow-up, he remained cautiously optimistic. “Everyone should get a second chance, but obviously if they mess up a second time, they’re obviously not trying to fix anything.”

Sophomore Isaac Quelly, on the other hand, expressed his frustration with being limited to the Hans as a student dining hall, especially after learning of the potential risks involved.

“As the son of a caterer, I am offended by the food quality. It’s a place where I come to get my fresh vegetables and salad bar, and the other options don’t give me vegetables,” Quelly explained. “I would love compensation, but I did sign up for the meal plan and it’s not required as a Sophomore. But I feel like the exclusiveness of Sodexo is really overwhelming,” Quelly continued, mentioning the dining hall’s managing caterers.

SodexoMAGIC, a partner company divided between Sodexo Inc. and Magic Johnson Enterprises, manages the Hans, and is responsible for the maintenance and safety of the dining hall.

“Drexel University will continue to hold SodexoMAGIC accountable to the terms of the contract and to the standards that are in the best interests of our students and the university community,” Gemenden said, on the subject of Drexel and Sodexo’s relationship. “SodexoMAGIC has increased internal and external health and safety auditing controls and is retraining staff as needed.”

Nonetheless, certain students, including McCarry Papula, have almost developed a fear of the dining hall following the release of the health report.

“Having the Hans as one of the main places that we eat, it’s kind of scary, then. There are people who talk about getting sick from the Hans every so often, and that would totally explain why,” Paula said. “Our only other meal swipe option is Urban, I feel like they should probably get that fixed. I can only imagine what would have happened when there wasn’t Urban, kids would have had even more reason to be angry about this,” she continued.

However, despite the seemingly poor state of Drexel’s main dining hall and the outcry from students, the Hans is far from being an actual health risk.

“It is important to note that the Philadelphia Board of Health did not find the violations concerning enough to close the Handschumacher Dining Center and it is currently running normal business hours,” Gemenden said, reiterating the fact that the Hans is continuing function without any forced intervention by the health department.

The post Hans inspection reveals foodborne illness risks appeared first on The Triangle.

 Nonetheless, Goodwin college provides several helpful services and advisors for students who aren’t quite sure how to go about obtaining their college education.

In 1892 the Department of Lectures and Evening Classes was first founded. Following a handful of slight name changes here and there, Goodwin College of Professional Studies was eventually christened as what is essentially the University’s night school. Today, Goodwin is responsible for the general studies degree completion program, non-matriculated courses and the first-year exploratory program for freshmen who have yet to declare their majors.

“We see our focus related to collaborating with the entire University, supporting three different student populations: exploring first year freshman, degree completion students, and non-degree seeking students who are more interested in learning a new skill,” The Executive Director of the Goodwin College, Tim Gilrain, said. “Goodwin has a long history of supporting part-time professional students and this is an area we continue to focus with our general studies program.”

The general studies program refers to Goodwin’s Bachelor of Science in general studies, which is designed as a flexible and practical degree for professionals with incomplete credits from other undergraduate programs.

Photo courtesy: Goodwin College

“Goodwin’s degree completion programs provide opportunities for students; mostly part-time and often those with adult responsibilities and concerns, to take courses which help them earn undergraduate degrees and or update their knowledge base for their own personal or professional edification,” Lamont Wilson, director of the degree completions programs, said. “Our Bachelor of Science in general studies degree completion program is a compelling option for students looking to get the maximum return on credits they earned previously, while minimizing the time and expense of completing what, in many cases, they started years before coming to Drexel.”

Notably, this program is reportedly taken advantage of by military veterans. “We are collaborating with Enrollment Management and Student Success and Drexel University Online on a plan to facilitate the matriculation of military veterans looking to complete undergraduate degrees at Drexel,” Wilson continued. “Veterans with military transcripts can benefit greatly from the flexibility of Goodwin’s B.S. in general studies degree completion program.”

Similarly, Goodwin College’s non-matriculated options allow interested students to gain particular skills or knowledge a la carte, without ascribing to an actual major and the consequential time and tuition commitment. “We will continue to invest in non-credit studies which will provide an additional revenue stream for the university and create a gateway into other credit based programs across all of Drexel,” Gillian said.

The third pillar of the Goodwin College is the first-year exploratory studies, headed by Regina Ruane, the exploratory program director. “The purpose of the first-year exploratory studies program is to provide freshmen the opportunity to explore academic and career options before declaring a major at the end of their first year,” Ruane explained. “Students in the program follow one of two tracks, business, humanities, and social science or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

“Our first-year exploratory studies program is a cross-college collaborative program that allows students to experience courses in multiple areas of study before deciding on their major after the first year,” Gilrain added.

The first-year program is meant to appeal to the student without a concrete plan, and aid in avoiding mistakes early in a college career. This year, 13 freshmen enrolled in the program.

“[The program] emphasizes the importance of the freshmen year experience and the retention of our students,” Ruane continued. “The first-year exploratory program gives students the freedom to examine and explore their academic options with guidance from Goodwin College advising staff. This guidance enables students to make well-informed decisions in selecting the right degree program and the best career path while gaining valuable information about themselves, their academic interests and goals, and career aspirations.”

Shared by the entirety of the Goodwin College, nonetheless, is a mission to strengthen the student body and provide a service to the Drexel community and beyond. “Goodwin is uniquely positioned to provide access that is affordable and promotes diversity,” Wilson concluded. “The flexibility of our programs, particularly with online delivery options of Drexel’s quality, supports university, regional and federal, civic engagement initiatives for increasing the educational level of our communities—locally, nationally and globally.”

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Schedulr, a web app originally launched July 26, was designed to relieve some of the pain of scheduling classes every term. In anticipation of Winter term 2015, the app has received a number of updates from co-creators Nishtha Dalal, an informatics and information systems major, and Tushar Soni, a computer science major.

Schedulr has become increasingly popular among Drexel students over the past few months as an alternative to Drexel’s Term Master Schedule. After being shared on Facebook, a link to getschedulr.com received over 150 hits in a single night; and over the course of the following week, that number rose to more than 1000. Dalal and Soni have since continued to improve upon the app since its initial launch, while witnessing a steady rise in users, aiming to time any updates to coincide with course registration.

Photo courtesy: Nishtha Dalal

“The development of the updates has been on-going, but we rolled out the latest version about three days ago. We already saw a spike in users after Drexel sent out the registration email, and we wanted to make sure we were ready for when the big traffic hits,” Dalal and Soni wrote in an email.

For many students, the app is a godsend, removing the routine headache of planning course loads ahead of time. Carley Roche, a history sophomore, for example, praises Schedulr as an easy and convenient escape from class signups. “My first term [in] freshmen year, I actually missed the first day to sign up for classes, because I just didn’t understand the whole process. But I got back from summer break and a friend of mine showed me the website, and I was so happy I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore,” Roche said.

According to Dalal and Soni, comments from student users are not only encouraging, but have been vital in the further development of Schedulr. “We have received great feedback so far from students through various channels. A lot of the feedback indicated the need for the blockers, and we had already planned for it, so we rolled that out first,” the creators said.

“Blockers are essentially chunks of time during the week where you don’t want to take classes. It could be for any reason, like you hate waking up early, or you have a part-time job with fixed hours, or you just don’t want to go to class on Fridays. The new update allows for users to add these blockers to further narrow down their options,” they continued.

The second major update, other than improved load times, is the inclusion of a new summary page. “We realized that not a lot of people were able to find their course registration numbers when needed, and while we had the summary page in place, we saw that few people were going through to the end,” Dalal and Soni noted.

“The new summary page comes with a unique URL that’s yours to keep, and revisit on registration day, or share with your friends. The Summary page is equipped with CRNs and links to the actual course so students can check the course on TMS to confirm any restrictions that may apply,” they went on.

There are already early plans for other additions to the app, per the recommendations of fellow Drexel students.

“We are also receiving some suggestions on enhancing how the app handles pre- and co-requisites, so we are working with Drexel Information Resources and Technology to see how we can fix that,” the creators mentioned. “We recently gave a talk in the Foundations of Business class about Schedulr and the students had some great suggestions that we cannot wait to integrate into the app,” they said.

Such an evolution of Schedulr has students who are already familiar with the app enthusiastic about it returning in future terms.

“I don’t think I’ve used it since it’s been updated, but the changes sound helpful and I’ll definitely be trying it out,” Carley Roche said. “I mean, I’m sure they wouldn’t have bothered adding those things if they didn’t make it better. And it’s cool that they’ve actually been listening to what people want.”

Senior Nathaniel Stanton, on the other hand, had never used or even heard of Schedulr, but was more than open to trying it out. “Honestly, I wish this was around a few years ago. I’ve been dealing with Drexel’s system for four years,” Stanton said. “I guess it hasn’t been that bad, but this site just seems so much better.”

While support of Schedulr continues to grow, Dalal and Soni expressed their optimism surrounding the prospective development of their app, as well as a desire to cooperate with Drexel students and faculty to ensure Schedulr meets its full potential.

“As for long term plans, we are still discussing our options at various levels within the Drexel administration. We have seen great support from faculty in LeBow College of Business, the Director of College Operations Kevin Montgomery who has helped us take the app higher up in the chain, as well as from our new vice president of IRT and the [Office of the Provost],” Dalal and Soni said, before promising a bright future for Schedulr. “We are constantly looking to enhance the scheduling experience for students at Drexel and we are doing our best to deliver on that.”

Schedulr is now available for students to plan their Winter Terms at getschedulr.com.

The post Scheduling app receives updates for winter term appeared first on The Triangle.

David Klein, The Triangle

Drexel and all other universities in the Philadelphia area were on high alert Oct. 5 following a threat of violence posted anonymously online. In response, Drexel increased its security, posting officials in and around all campus buildings. Although the threat was not carried out, President John A. Fry wrote a letter to the University community Oct. 6 indicating that the increased security would remain until further notice. He also stated that the University’s security policy was under review.

The threat that sparked the increase in security occurred Oct. 2 on the website 4chan—the same site used by Oregon shooter Christopher Harper-Mercer. It began with a reference to the Harper-Mercer, stating“[T]he first of our kind has struck fear into the hearts of America. His cries have been heard, even by the President.”

“On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more,” the threat continued.

Upon discovery, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives informed Pennsylvania and New Jersey schools in the Philadelphia area of the threat.

Fry outlined the initial cautionary measures the University took in his letter to the community, stating that the most visible measure in increased security would be the requirement of Drexel IDs to enter the University’s buildings.

Regardless of the steps taken to ensure student safety, classes continued as scheduled the day of the threat. However, not all students felt comfortable venturing to campus.

“It seems like cancelling classes would’ve just been easier,” freshman Matthew Brown said. “All day everybody was sitting is class just waiting to hear gunshots or something—not that many people showed up to class in the first place,” he continued

As 2 p.m. came and went, it appeared that all anxiety revolving the anonymous threat was misplaced. The afternoon of Oct. 5 at Drexel University, as well as every other Philadelphia area school, proved to be routine and uneventful. “I was honestly really scared all day,” sophomore Amanda Miller admitted. “When nothing happened it was this huge relief,” she continued.

Fry’s Oct. 6 letter to update students of the status of Drexel security for the next few days expressed relief as well. However, Fry noted that the added security would not immediately dissolve.

“We will continue to require Drexel IDs to enter our buildings as we follow up on this situation with the FBI and Philadelphia Police, so please remember to have your ID at all times,” Fry wrote. He continued, noting that this event would leave a mark on future campus security, “I am putting together a task force of senior administrators to review our security practices and needs going forward, including procedures for accessing buildings.”

He continued, “Drexel is a safe place and we want to ensure that our students and employees as well as colleagues and neighbors who visit our campus can move freely and conveniently.”

Photo courtesy Jacob Dalton, The Triangle

Toshika Hollis, one of the added public safety members commented on student’s reactions to the added security, “It’s been going smooth. We have some people [who] don’t want to give their ID but that’s just them not used to doing it. It’s for their safety.”

Hollis went on to comment that this was her first day working for Drexel, on what she called the special detail security, “Everybody’s volunteer [for detail security]. So once you volunteered and signed up you check the IDs,” she said.

Sophomore Demitria Apostolos shared her thoughts on continuing higher security practices, “I don’t know. I’m like indifferent. I think it’s kinda annoying but it makes me feel more safe.”

“I think scanning into buildings is a good idea in the city. Like it’s annoying but it’s safer,” fellow sophomore Kylie Stetler agreed. “I think the ‘increased security’ is bullsh-t [be]cause there are literally no public safety people anywhere around my classes.”

The University has not yet released information on Drexel’s revised security program or when the revisions will come into effect.

The post FBI warning puts campus on alert appeared first on The Triangle.

The 2015-2016 academic year marks Drexel University’s shift from nine summer freshman orientations to “Welcome Week,” a single week-long fall orientation. The event is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12, the only scheduled move-in day for incoming freshmen and transfer students, and will conclude one day before classes begin on Sept. 20.

Welcome Week is an effort by Drexel administration to improve incoming students’ experiences at college, provide them with necessary information about the campus and encourage mingling and bonding within the freshmen class.

Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life, Subir Sahu, explained the thought process behind the switchover from a summer orientation.

“You’re really cramming in a lot into these day and a half to two day sessions. So through the summer orientation program, we were losing the ability to really celebrate the incoming class as a whole and we were also losing the opportunity to engage students beyond just information sharing,” Sahu explained.

“You’re bringing a few students and their families, a few hundred at a time. So you lose the ability to really bring the entire class in, as a whole, and celebrate them and what they bring to the campus and the fact that they’re new members of the Drexel family and the Drexel community.” he continued.

The University’s employment of a new admissions strategy to attract “right fit” Drexel students paved the way for the reconstruction of freshman orientation. After attracting students well-researched on Drexel’s unique quarter system and co-op facets, administrators have said that the next step is creating a campus community where they can thrive.

Sahu agreed that the focus on developing the student community was the drive behind the university’s reorganization of orientation.

“We certainly looked at what other institutions do in order to see what we can pick and choose [for our program] and figure out what we can model here that’s worked in other institutions.” But I would say the driving force behind going towards a fall orientation and a welcome week was more about our student body, versus what other institutions do,” Sahu said.

As far as the changes to the move-in process, the University hopes to better facilitate students the initial entrance to the dorms. This includes Drexel’s integration of the University and Student Services [USS], and its crew’s move-in process.

“We’ve changed the move-in process so it’s a lot easier for students. You know, we’re going to move the boxes into the halls and so it’s really a day where they can come and be with their families, be with the community, celebrate and then that night is really the kick-off to the student portion of Welcome Week,” Sahu said.

Sahu went on to admit Welcome Week has been an ambitious undertaking.

“There’s a certain element of controlled chaos. I mean, you’re bringing in thousands of students to the campus in one day and that’s why we want to do it right. Move-In Day and Welcome Week, as a whole, has been a major planning process across all the units on campus,” he said.

Sahu also revealed the origin of the changes to orientation as a symptom of broader changes being made Drexel’s entire admissions department.

“We’ve looked at our whole admissions process and we’re trying to bring in the right type of student, who wants to be here, who understands Drexel, who is going to be successful here and move towards graduation. And so, I think in the context of those shifts, this seemed like a good shift going forward, and I think there’s a lot of belief in the spirit of moving to a fall orientation,” Sahu said.

After move-in day, on Sept. 13, freshmen are scheduled to have a kick-off event where faculty, alumni and staff will welcome them to campus.

“We’re going to highlight students and alumni and help new students understand how to be prepared for the first day of class, the first week of school, the year,” Deike maintained.

The week is expected to be full of interaction between the freshman class current Drexel students, faculty and professional staff. The University as well as student clubs and organizations will be hosting events throughout the week for freshmen to attend.

Freshmen can also join returning students in “Welcome Back Week,” starting Sept. 21. Learn more about individual events by visiting http://drexel.edu/studentlife/get_involved/programs_events/welcome_back/

The post “Welcome Week” replaces freshmen orientations appeared first on The Triangle.

On August 10, Drexel electrical engineering major Om Mahida saw a post on Reddit about a City Council of Philadelphia bill that would restrict the number and placement of food trucks in University City. Within the hour he started a petition on change.org called “Save the Drexel Food Trucks” which has since accumulated more than 3,000 signatures from students, professors and other concerned citizens.

Since June 18, the Philadelphia City Council has been considering the passage of a bill that would restrict the number of street vendors allowed to operate on Drexel’s main campus. With the creation of a Drexel University District, the city ordinance would implement new regulations regarding the placement and practices of food trucks.

Photo Credit: Jacob Dalton

Originally proposed by Councilwomen Jannie Blackwell, Bill No. 150600, entitled “Sidewalk Vendors in Neighborhood Business Districts,” is an amendment to the current city standards followed by local food trucks.

While all food trucks in Philadelphia are already required to earn a license from the Health Department as well as a pay for a Philadelphia Business Privilege license, this legislation would add a number of new restrictions. These include being required to vend in assigned locations, stop their business at certain hours, and legal obligation to relocate for seventy-two hours at the university’s request, regardless of the reason or frequency.

In addition, the trucks would be subject to an annual fee of $2,750 to reimburse the City for lost parking meter revenue.

“We started the petition on change.org once we realized this would be the best way for us to show our support. We took this step to show City of Philadelphia and Drexel officials that we love the food trucks on campus and do not believe there needs to be additional legislation. Some of the best food trucks are small and family run and adding legislation will drive them away,” Mahida explained.

A number of Drexel students have been vocal in explaining why they signed the petition on the webpage, including psychology major Matt Flynn who refers to the bill as an “atrocity.”

“I would urge city council members to consider not only the obvious inconvenience to students this bill poses, but also, and hopefully more seriously, the impact that this ban would have on the lives of the food truck operators that rely on the student population for income,” Flynn wrote. “Food trucks have entirely brightened my experience at Drexel and losing them would be detrimental to the community,” his post continued.

Additionally, the petition has caught the attention of Republican Nominee for Mayor of Philadelphia, Melissa Murray Bailey, who left an online response to the bill.

“I urge City Council members to vote NO on BILL NO. 150600,” Bailey expressed. “Limiting food trucks on the Drexel Campus is another example of how we let special interest groups dictate policy to the detriment of the people and small business of Philadelphia. By limiting food trucks in the area, food options will likely become more expensive and less diverse, and food truck owners and workers will be out of work.”

Photo Credit: Ajon Brodie

The petition has also caught the attention of University officials, who published an article on DrexelNow entitled “Drexel supports Establishment of Vibrant, Safe Vending District.” The article expressed that the University was working with Blackwell in hopes of creating a “vending improvement district.”

“It would create several designated vending areas and ensure all vendors on Drexel’s campus are licensed and practice proper food-handling techniques,” the article read, continuing on to compare the ordinance to those that have been passed on the campuses of Temple University and University of Pennsylvania.

“The ordinance would also clear Drexel’s busiest crosswalks for pedestrians,” the DrexelNow article continued.

Brian Keech, Senior Vice President of the Office of Government and Community Relations, commented on the University’s support of the bill and the popularity of the petition.

“We anticipated that there would be many questions and concerns about how this legislation would impact mobile vending on Drexel’s campus and we look forward to an ongoing discussion. We are very much aware of the ‘Save the Drexel Food Trucks’ petition and impressed with the level of engagement by our Drexel students,” Keech stated in an email.

“We are not seeking to eliminate vending on Drexel’s campus, but the petition comments are helpful to us in regards to the preservation of the mobile food truck culture on our campus. I think that once the students understand that the University is supportive of mobile vending in specified locations, and the bill will not eliminate it, there will be less resistance to the legislation,” Keech said.

Keech held that although vending is already regulated by the City, the University has always upheld an interest in activity on-campus that affects the safety and welfare of students and employees, addressing the University’s concern that the street vending creates a large, hectic and unsafe sidewalk and crosswalk traffic.

“There are public safety and pedestrian traffic concerns, particularly where Lancaster Avenue and Market Street intersects with 32nd and 33rd Streets,” Keech explained.

Keech also described the University’s dining vision as one that involved on-campus food trucks. “We hope to create a vibrant mobile vending area,” Keech said.

Photo Credit: Ajon Brodie

“Not eliminate mobile vending, concentrated around 33rd and Arch Streets in addition to Ludlow Street,” he continued, noting the installation of benches and tables around campus to improve the student experience and provide for places for students and faculty to eat near the vendors. 

Despite the University’s claim that the ordinance would preserve street vending, a number of local food truck and stand owners have expressed great discontent with the bill including Cheese E. Wagon owner Mike Sullivan.

“There’s a reason this was submitted on June 18, the last day the City Council was in. The kids ain’t in school,” Sullivan began. “They’ll come back here and the trucks are gone. And you know what they’re going to say? ‘Oh, everybody just left,’ and now they’re forced to eat at the dining facility.”

While Sullivan expressed that he once worked as an executive chef at the University of Pennsylvania Student Dining center and was familiar with the pressure of selling meal plans, he lamented the price of student dining.

“The food is more expensive. So in the end, it’s the kids that are getting the raw end of the deal,” he said.

He also expressed that more food trucks mean more options for students.

“I mean, just look down the street,” Sullivan said. “We usually have a Mexican truck there, a smoothie truck, there’s an exotic truck with great meat, you got grilled cheese, you got crepes. So there’s all this variety here at a great price.

“There’s nothing illegal. Everybody’s legal. The health department can come down here at any time, the[Licenses and Inspections] can come out at any time, so when they did an article about how they want to ‘make it safer’ and they want to ‘make the trucks legal,’ that’s a bunch of bull, because the trucks are legal. I’ve got five licenses on that wall, if I wasn’t legal, I wouldn’t be here, and Drexel knows that.”

Sullivan went on to criticize the various restrictions and limitations that would be placed on his business, but eventually boiled his opinion down to a final thought.

“It’s just so shady. The president [of Drexel University] doesn’t want the trucks – that’s what it is,” he said. “You eliminate the trucks, you eliminate business, you eliminate competition, and then where do you have to go? You’ve got to go to the places where you’re going to pay more money to Drexel.”

Mahida thinks the vast support his petition has gathered online is a result of the University’s neglect in asking for student involvement in the renovation of their campus.

“[Drexel]” should have talked to all parties involved and then tried to find the best solution,” Mahida stated. “These food trucks are a staple of our campus and offer more than just food. They provide a culture and attract people from all over the city. This benefits not only the student population since we have more options, but also Drexel. It would be nice for Drexel to open up its policies to its student body to help solve problems that exist,” he concluded.

An official date has not been set, but Blackwell has said that public hearings on this food truck ordinance will commence at the end of September, where community members will have the chance to express their thoughts on the bill. She has stated that she believes this will give vendors the opportunity to work out any issues they may have with the bill.

The post The fight for food trucks appeared first on The Triangle.

The Department of University Facilities announced July 21 that the Blue & Gold Route will be replaced by a new Powelton/Spring Garden Route effective September 8.

As rumored in a widespread Facebook post on the page, the new University City Loop will eliminate all stops within Powelton Village, and will instead offer students three stops: Hagerty Library at 33rd and Market streets, the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships and the Vidas Athletic Complex. The avoidance of 43rd and Market streets through 38th and Walnut streets is the biggest change between the present and future routes. The Blue & Gold shuttles would take a left on to 38th Street and continue on Walnut Street until 43rd Street, where the new shuttles stay on Powelton Avenue until the athletic center.

Allison Liu

Pre-junior David Gamero described this as unfortunate news for commuting students who previously relied on the Blue & Gold shuttle as an easy and economically feasible source of transportation to and from main campus. Gamero said he currently rides the bus almost every weekday to get to his classes. The new shuttle system, however, calls for him to rethink his daily routine.

“I guess I’ll take my bike out everyday,” Gamero said.

“I’m not looking forward to that when it starts snowing in winter term. At least the new route will be better than nothing, but the new stop is still pretty far from my place,” he continued.

“The Blue & Gold Route was originally designed to shuttle students to and from the Vidas Athletic Complex; a stop at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships was added when that facility opened,” according to the Department of Facilities statement. “A recent review of ridership showed that utilization was lower during evening and weekend hours and along the expanded loop on Walnut Street. The new Powelton/Spring Garden Route will provide more efficient service to the route’s most frequent riders,” it continued.

University facilities encouraged that students accustomed to using the Blue & Gold Route to commute from their homes west of campus in Powelton Village or to reach the Fresh Grocer at 40th and Walnut Streets to take advantage of Drexel’s agreement with the University of Pennsylvania. This service allows Drexel students to ride Penn’s shuttle service to the destinations cut from the Blue & Gold Route.

Despite the promise of better service, some students are still not convinced the change is for the better. “Even though this doesn’t really affect me — I never go to the stop on Walnut — I don’t think ignoring some commuters is worth saving the rest of us a few extra minutes,” junior Andrea Mauger said.

“I feel like the only people that will notice the switch will be ones that are losing their shuttle stop,” Chris Bailes, a third-year student in the School of Law, predicted. “There’s commuters who are going to have to figure out a new way to get to campus and I’ll probably never think about it again.”

When asked about Drexel’s reasoning for altering the shuttle routes, Bailes continued, “I’m sure the shorter route is cheaper. I’m not accusing Drexel of being greedy or anything, like I hear some other students do, but it makes sense that they would want to save money anyway they can. Maybe they really think this can make the shuttles work better overall too, who knows.”

The post Drexel reorganizes University City Loop shuttles for Fall 2015 appeared first on The Triangle.