Wiess, WRC offer free O/C lunch

By Jocelyn Wright     9/4/08 7:00pm

Living off campus can be a learning experience. Students venturing beyond the accommodating dorm situation have to suddenly deal with bills, buying groceries and preparing meals. However, Will Rice College and Wiess College are now offering to shoulder the lunchtime burden by offering free weekly meals. At Will Rice, where the program is in its third year, off-campus students are provided with free sandwiches and cookies each Friday. Wiess is pioneering a similar program, and will be offering free sandwiches to off-campus students Tuesdays for the next two weeks to gauge student interest. Will Rice Master Paula Krisko said she and her husband, Mike Wolf, started the program two years ago as part of a series of efforts to get off-campus students more involved in residential college life.

"Pretty much one-fourth of our students live off campus and we thought this could help college cohesion," Krisko said. "We tried to make events - and this is one of them - that might encourage people to come back to the college at different times, so people who wouldn't normally come back would have a day where they can come and relax. We hoped this would encourage that and generally encourage people to remain part of the college and hopefully come back during their senior year."

Krisko said Will Rice sees between 15 and 30 participants in any given week. Students put their names on a sign-up sheet and are provided with bread, cheese and lunch meats. Krisko said the college had to devise a cheaper way to feed students because lunch can cost over $6, which would deplete all the funds available for that year in two months. She said the cost of the sandwiches was a little under $2 per person.

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Will Rice Coordinator Joyce Courtoise said she brings cookies for the off-campus students each week.

"I figure they deserve a little dessert," Courtoise said.

Wiess master Mike Gustin said he suggested the program to the Wiess off-campus representatives because he and Will Rice master Wolf frequently share ideas, and he thought the off-campus lunch program would benefit Wiess students.

Wiess had its first experimental free lunch in the spring. Gustin said it was well received by students. Like the Will Rice program, the Wiess program costs about $2 per student. The lunch fare includes bread, sandwich meats, peanut butter and jelly. Gustin said he is currently providing half the money for the program and the Wiess Cabinet is providing the other half. Over the past two weeks that the pilot program has been in effect, approximately 30 students a week have shown up, making the program cost about $60 per week. Gustin said he is working with Wiess off-campus representative Laura Barg-Walkow and Residential Dining Manager Olivia Waldron to work out the financial details and timing for the future.

Barg-Walkow said the program will either be weekly or bi-weekly.

"Our main goal is to keep the program accessible and low cost, and hopefully free for students," Barg- Walkow said.

Barg-Walkow said the program has so far been met with a positive response from students.

"Most people think it's a great thing," Barg-Walkow said. "We even have [formerly off-campus] students saying they wished they had a similar program when they were off-campus because it helps bring off-campus students into the commons and facilitates on- and off- campus student interaction."

Barg-Walkow said she is open to students' suggestions for the program.

"We're trying to get a grilling machine for paninis and grilled cheese and someone suggested we have Ramen one day," Barg-Walkow said.

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