By Dan McDevitt
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Camden County College students gripe over certain aspects of the campus’ café including food quality and sanitation; however, they offer high marks in other areas of the cafe such as atmosphere and technology.
The Community Center’s cyber café has plenty to offer students. Resting directly over the Madison Hall Connector Building and sandwiched between Madison Hall and Otto R. Mauke Community Center, the cyber café is always buzzing with many hungry students. Perfectly positioned on the second floor of the three-floor building, the café’s eye catching features draw many students in to see what the buzz is all about.
After a kitchen fire on the second floor forced the Community Center to undergo renovations in 2003, the new café was opened along with new additions and features in 2005. This new café included more than 10 computers with Internet access, conveniently placed vending machines, a hang out room for students to socialize in their leisure time, and plenty of room to sit and eat. The high ceiling and ledge provide a very open look. To enter the café from Madison Hall, one must cross a modern overpass that extends over the first floor sitting area. With all the amenities in the café, one may question just how good the café really is.
Brandon Glikas, 18, a Camden County College business major, usually comes away less than impressed by the service he receives after a typical visit to the café. He says, “The food is way too greasy and tastes like bad fast food.” Glikas eats at the café four times a week due to his school schedule. “If there was one thing I could change, it would be the quality of the food,” he says. Despite this, Glikas says the servers are always kind and he enjoys the atmosphere at the café.
Another student who is less than pleased was Carlos Reyes, 25. Reyes says, “Whenever I go into the cafe it’s never clean and seems unsanitary.” Reyes said he liked everything else about it and doesn’t mind the food.
Abby Ramirez, 21, a nursing major, says she enjoys the café for all it’s worth. “I can use the computers between classes, and even though the food seems old, I can always find something worth eating,” says Ramirez. She has very few quarrels with the service.
So while some students wish to see improvements, most others enjoy the benefits that the café at Camden County College provides.
Attempts to reach a food service administrator for comment were unsuccessful.
The Camden Count College café awaits hundreds of hungry students just prior to opening. By Dan McDevitt, CCC Journalism Program