MoCon to be given a new lease on life?

Members of the Bring Back MoCon group on Facebook may have reason to rejoice, if the plans of Delmar Crim and the Bon Appétit Student Working Group are implemented.

According to Christy Nichols '10, Crim has recommended that Wesleyan reopen MoCon for the 2008-09 school year, due to overcrowding at the Usdan Marketplace, and in response to several student and staff complaints throughout the year:

As one of the six members of the Bon Appetit Student Working Group, I've been working with dining staff and BA management to outline the future needs of campus dining. What we've been hearing from students and staff is that the Usdan facilities are inconvenient and reach overcapacity at certain times of the day... usually around 6:30 in the evening, and sometimes around 12:30 in the afternoon. Students have also been telling us that the lack of a freshman-centric dining facility hinders bonding among members of the freshman class.

BA management, including Delmar Crim and Dining Manager Krista McKenzie, have also expressed frustration with the layout of the Usdan kitchens and servery, saying it just isn't fit for the number of students using the space. They have been in touch with various people in the administration and have strongly suggested that the University reopen MoCon next year... at least temporarily, in order to alleviate overcrowding and better accommodate freshman diners.

Bon Appétit has even put its MoCon webpage back online, which is probably an indication that they are pretty sure that their plans for reopening MoCon will be realized.

I, for one, would love to dine at those sweet round tables once more. To show your support for the proposal, Christy says you should email Dean of the College Mike Whaley and the WSA's Finances and Facilities Committee.

EDIT: Now that April Fool's Day is over, I should clarify that, much as I'd love to see MoCon reopen, this entry was only a joke. Delmar Crim has said nothing about MoCon, to my knowledge. Christy Nichols '10 does not exist, nor does the Bon Appétit Student Working Group. But the MoCon webpage is back up! (Justin)

O'Rourke's Update (And How You Can Visit Mocon/Davenport Reincarnated)

Those of you who have been around Wesleyan long enough to remember and love O'Rourke's Diner: fear not. Although previous information proclaimed that the beloved diner would reopen February 4 (also known as this past Monday), sources on O'Rourke's official website forum are now citing next Monday (February 11) as the opening day.

In related news, there was a significant piece in the New Haven Register this past Saturday regarding the story of the diner's rebuilding. It includes several interesting anecdotes. For one, as it turns out, those students who are feeling nostalgic for last year's dining will be able to go to O'Rourke's once it opens and feel a little bit closer to the twin legacies of Mocon and Davenport. The article explains:

"Wesleyan donated booths from the Davenport Student Center and about $30,000 in kitchen equipment from a dining hall being renovated, said Jeff Bianco, the architect who designed the rebuilt interior."

And in the context of Middletown nightlife, the article also notes,

"O’Rourke has big plans for the new O’Rourke’s that include opening for dinner three nights a week, late nights on Fridays and Saturdays and adding live Irish music sessions on Monday nights."

For the rest of the piece, go to http://www.nhregister.com and search for "O'Rourke's Diner." Or to get your news straight from the source, hit up www.orourkesdiner.com

Bring Back Mocon

Scott Cole '09 created a facebook group called Bring Back Mocon:

After seeing only a few meals being eaten at the new Susan Lemburg Usdan Campus Center, there must be someone who is sitting at home thinking, "Shit, I fucked up."

While the new Usdan Center may look nice on our pretty new brochures it sure as hell is a crappy place to eat.

The food is delicious, but the organization is terrible. So this is why we need to Bring Mocon Back! The heart and soul of our dining experiance, a missed friend.

The Wisdom of Laverne

Kim Segall '10 writes this great feature in this week's Argus about everyone's weekend sunshine, Laverne Pharham. We could all learn a thing or two about life from Laverne:

"I love [this job] because I love these kids," she said. "I love these kids. I love my co-workers. I just love people in general."

"There was this one time when a group of us were coming through the line at MoCon and she decided to give us all hugs and told us that giving and receiving hugs was very important," Kristin May '10 said.
...

"I don't have a glamorous life," Pharham said. "The less you accumulate materially, the happier you are."

She attributes many of these life lessons to wisdom she learned from her mother. These values have shaped her attitudes in life and at work.

"Whatever you dish out to the world, you get back," she said. "If you're hateful, that's what you get back."

8-something points has never gone so far

Dear Those-Who-Spirit-Away-Food-From-Mocon:

Ziploc makes big bags.
Really, really big bags:

Large 1.25 ft. x 1.25 ft., 5 per box
Xtra Large 2 ft. x 1.7 ft., 4 per box
XXtra Large 2 ft. x 2.7 ft., 3 per box

I'm just gonna say that and drop it.

Keep Wesleyan Weird

From this facebook group:

There comes a point where enough is enough.

When the administration outlawed chalking, an understandable uproar went through the campus. This uproar, however, was not nearly loud enough, and that transgression has been imposed upon us for far too long.

When the administration required Eclectic's parties to be held in Mocon a collective groan of disapproval was heard on campus. Can we let them ruin our already limited nightlife by housing parties in a cafeteria?

Now the administration has just had the Butt's tunnels painted over. All of the beautiful colors and forms on the walls have been replaced by white and black paint.

Now, with Middletown's recently added ordinance, the administration is allowing police onto our campus. Can we let them take away the very atmosphere we love?

Bring back chalking.

Bring back Eclectic parties.

Bring back tagging.

Get police off private property.

Even if you don't agree with chalking, the party scene, tagging in the tunnels, or the new police presence I urge you to join this group. This is clearly not the end of their attempt to strip the entire campus of culture.

I want wespeaks and I want them now. ON IT, BITCHES.

Edit: Anonymous commenter, you made my day:

"Fuck Wespeaks. I'm buying a spraycan and a crowbar first chance I get. It won't be pretty paint, but this is not the school I wanted to go to. I'll take it back."

The breakfast question

So as you may have heard, if Mocon was a college student, ze would walk around in a "I don't do mornings" t-shirt. Yes, that's right, no breakfast at Mocon. I've heard several explanations for this tragic cirucmstance, ranging from lack of attendance at breakfast in the past to Aramark and the school being too damn cheap to pay for The Most Important Meal of the Day. Make up your own! It's a fun car game.

In any case, the following options are yours for the taking:

-Invest in yogurt, milk, fruit, cereal, energy bars, bagels, donuts, pizza, any or all of the above, and keep them in your room as breakfast food for before class. Fridges are pretty convenient that way.

-Invest in a coffee maker for your room (I recommend this anyways, as it is incredibly convenient for your after-Summerfields-closes caffeine needs) if you are a coffee person or if you are not a morning person and have classes before 11 (because you will automatically become a coffee person). It will save you money in the end, not having to pay way too many points for fancyschmancy coffee everyday.

-The first floor of the Campus Center and the Pi Cafe both peddle breakfastlike foods, including pastries, bagel sandwiches, and packaged cold cereal, however as freshmen you have a very limited amount of points to spend, and I would recommend saving said points for more worthy causes. I have also heard that freshmen can spend meals at the Campus Center if they desire breakfast, but I'm not sure the exact mechanics of this deal so interested persons should contact the lovely folks at Aramark.

-If you don't have classes before 11 or if your stomach is virulently against mornings, then simply go without. First semester freshman year I had classes starting at 1:15 (sweet, right?) so I would roll out of bed and go to lunch, totally bypassing the issue. Second semester when my classes started at 9, I found this impossible.

Happy breakfasting!

Holly adds: Ok, I had classes at 8am last year. I'm normally one of the healthiest eaters around, but eating breakfast normally kills me in terms of time (because I'm also one of the most mentally disorganized people around.) But my breakfast most of the time consisted solely of Full Throttles (I fucking hate coffee) purchased the night before from Weshop and apples stolen from Mocon. However, during final week, I would ALWAYS, ALWAYS force myself to eat a bowl of cereal in the morning and if I were your mommy (and I am the mommy of many at Wesleyan) I would force you to do the same. Finals week is invariably a week when many people get sick (it doesn't help that it's in the middle of December) and good nutrition is clutch in prevention.

What's for dinner?

Maybe I'm the only person who didn't know this, but campus dining areas publish their menus online here. By "campus dining areas" I mean Mocon, since Summerfields and Kosher Kitchen don't appear to be uploading theirs (for now anyways), and the others that are listed don't really change their offerings except for maybe daily specials. I've added the link to the sidebar. But hey, now you can avoid turkey tetrazzini day!

(P.S. Go try the peanut butter and banana pizza at Mocon. It is so weird and so good.)

Talk the talk

Some of these should be obvious, but I can't sleep, so whatever.

You:
Prefrosh are technically prospective students still in high school (other schools call them Prospies, but don't you fucking dare utter that word here), but some people keep calling students who have already matriculated "prefrosh" until the minute they step onto campus during orientation, whereupon they become freshmen. Additionally, you are forever your host's prefrosh no matter what year you are. No, you will not be hazed.

Academics:
PAC is for history/government/poli-sci majors, Fisk is for most humanities, Judd is where psychology majors live, and the Science Center is for science majors. Hall-Atwater, Shanklin and the Science Tower are all separate entities that are referred to as the Science Center. PAC lab is in PAC, STlab is in the Science Tower, and HASlab is in Hall-Atwater, although no one goes there. Never, ever, ever confuse COL (College of Letters) with CSS (College of Social Studies). The administration is all in North College except for the President, who's in South College. The Bell Tower is in South College, the Clock Tower is in Memorial Chapel.

Living:
In Westco specifically, if you live on the second floor, you live in Up, and if you live on the first floor, you live in Down. For example, Westco 214 would be Down 2; Westco 125 would be Up 1. The Westco Cafe is not a cafe. Fauver is divided into Nearside and Farside. "Butterfields" is almost never said in its entirety; instead, it's Butt A, Butt B, Butt C...etc. Open House is the LGBTetc. safe space, not Out House, which is dedicated to enjoying the outdoors and is still not to be confused with Earth House, that seeks to actively preserve the environment.

Leisure:
Duke Day and the Sex Party are in the fall. Zonker Harris Day and Queer Prom are in the spring. Wesfest, Zonker Harris Day and 4/20 are almost always on the same weekend. A Townie is a Middletown resident unaffiliated with the University, but the word has a somewhat negative connotation. The Tunnels can refer to any part of the tunnel system around campus, but the Maintenance Tunnels can be defined separately.

Food:
Mocon is where most of you will eat on a regular basis; the Mocs is the tummy trouble you experience afterwards (pronounced "moques", but this term is rapidly falling out of use in favor of "shitting my brains out"). At Davenport, if you go to eat at the Campus Center, you're eating on the first floor. If you want the second floor, you eat at Montague's, and if you want First Harvest, you eat at Vegan. If you're going to Late Night, you're going to Summerfields after 9pm. S&C is the Star and Crescent, Red & Black can refer to either the Red & Black cafe in Broad Street Books or who you work for if you get a job soliciting alums for money. If you say you're going to Broad Street, it is assumed that you're going to the book store since there's nothing else of interest there.

Feel free to add to this post.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend: MoConaughy Hall

Truth be told, I know nothing about the mythical Mr. MoConaughy, except that his name was really difficult to spell. In his honor, we named a dining hall after him, and then promptly forgot who he was by nicknaming it "MoCon".

But none of that matters. You've heard all about it, kids: MoCon, the great dining hall, spaceship, and provider of stomach ailments. Filled with food, freshmen, and man-eating crocodiles. And now I'm going to give you some tips that will, with any luck, make your freshman dining experience a bit smoother.


MoCon, with what I think is Laurenellen McCann '09 getting a drink in the foreground.

INSTALLMENT 1: THE SOCIAL SCENE

First, MoCon is a terrific place to meet lots of your fellow freshmen, and even the occasional sophomore. Much more rarely, you'll spot the elusive junior or senior in MoCon. Take advantange of the opportunity during orientation to get to know lots of people at MoCon; it's a proven fact that, aside from orientation week booze-fests, orientation week MoCon dinners are the least socially-awkward places to meet new people.

Other than fellow freshmen, your MoCon experience will be peppered with the aforementioned crocodiles, the occasional suppertime streakers (who ever said shirts and shoes are required?), and an array of friendly (and sometimes-less-than-friendly) staff. The crocodiles are invisible, so you needn't worry about them, but the staff are plenty visible, so please be polite.

Your weekend mornings will be brightened by the eternally flirty, friendly Grandma swiping your card at the bottom of the MoCon stairs. During the week, it will most likely be a quiet Hispanic man reading a novel.

Regular MoCon personalities include the famous Dave, grillmaster and all-around good guy; the (remark deleted) pizza lady; the cup stocker and countertop cleaner extraordinaire; the bouncy silver-haired salad lady; and the cute pasta lady, among others. Dave is a MoCon staple: befriend him and you will have gained a new friend, albeit not one you'll see at your next hall party. (Remarks deleted.) The cup stocker is always quiet, but Red Sox fans, rejoice: he loves the team and is always interested in striking up a conversation with fellow fans. The silver-haired lady seems friendly.

Also, one time I witnessed her running around the MoCon floor hog-tied in duct tape.

On rare occasions, the aforementioned student streakers will bolt through MoCon, hungry not for dinner, but apparently for the awed glances of fellow students realizing that they're seeing yet another type of meat in MoCon.

Tips on food options and the occasional special dining events at MoCon will be forthcoming. For now, more on the eccentricities of MoCon staff can be found courtesy of Jake Cuttler '09 and the Argus.

Holly adds: Additional Wespeaks on the content of Cuttler's Wespeak:

1. Jordan Fish '06: Cuttler's Slice-of-Life was Lame


2. Bridgett Stapleton, Director of Dining Services: Mocon Wespeak hurtful, offensive


3. Raphael Gerraty '09: Response to Jordan Fish