Wheaton Students and their Quest for a Cup

Upon arriving at your first class of the day, if you take a moment to look around at your fellow classmates you may notice that right next to their notebooks and pens most will have a cup of coffee. I myself begin most days the same way. The relationship between coffee and college students is not a new subject, but I wanted to learn more about it amongst my friends and classmates here at Wheaton. First of all, everyone has different ways of getting their preferred cup. Besides from filling up at one of the dining halls, some purchase it at one of the campus’s cafes, others brew it in their rooms, some even drive to the nearest Dunkin Donuts. Their preferred cup may come hot or iced, black or heavy with cream in sugar. Regardless of the form it comes in, its caffeine content gives you some kind of boost. More interesting than its different forms is the different ways in which people talk about coffee. Personally, I am a big coffee drinker. No day really begins until my first cup, which I prefer to brew in my room. Though I am hesitant to admit it, I have come to realize that I depend on that caffeine boost to wake up. I even drink coffee later in the day to help me push through a study session. In conversations with other coffee drinkers, I’ve found that they refer to it as if it were an addictive, even dangerous consumable. I’ve heard people say that they are trying to avoid coffee for the day, even express happily that they have gotten through hours or days without a cup. Others will complain of headaches and other “withdrawal” symptoms after an extended period without. During finals week, it seemed as if all concerns and customs associated with coffee are temporarily suspended, as I found I was not the only one drinking coffee well into the night. And yet, I managed to have a few conversations with people who thought about coffee in a different way than I did. They did not drink coffee for the effects, but preferred to savor it for its taste. Some told me that they did not want to be controlled by caffeine. Hearing others talk about coffee in this way has caused me to call my own habits into question, and lately I’ve been trying to limit my consumption. Black tea has become my go-to substitute, but I find myself missing the characteristic coffee boost. Though I am determined to slow my coffee habits and savor the taste that made me a coffee drinker in the first place, we’ll see what happens when spring semester gets into full swing.   

This picture was taken in Chase Round as I asked one of the dinning hall staff member for more waffle batter.

The dinning halls at Wheaton College are a place to meet friends and take a break from classes or homework. It is also one of the few places where Wheaton students can interact with residents of the Norton community. The connection between the students and the dinning hall staff can be strong and it can influence the places where students will eat. For example, me and my friends live on upper campus, but we all like having lunch in Chase Square because Will, the stir fry guy, is friendly, a great cook and we have developed a good relationship with him over the years. I usually talk to Will about soccer, classes and I complain about the limited food options that are available in Chase Square. Furthermore, my cross-country friends and I always have breakfast in Emerson dinning hall because Rada, the lady who makes omelets, is very sweet, also a great cook and is known for having a very positive attitude towards life.

            In fact, it is this positivism and cheerfulness that is expressed through many of the staff members that makes the interactions between students and staff strong. People who work in the dinning halls have very difficult jobs and most of us cannot imagine ourselves working in the dinning hall every single day. Therefore, most of the students develop a great respect for some of the employees and even if a staff member is not doing his or her job properly, we justify their actions because of their labor-intensive work.

            Furthermore, our lack of understanding of these people’s economic status has developed ‘rumors’ within Wheaton Students that try to explain the dinning hall employee’s daily challenges. After two and a half years at Wheaton, I’ve heard people say that certain dinning hall employees are drug addicts and others say that Wheaton hires members of a rehabilitation facility that is apparently located somewhere is Norton. Unfortunately, this is the way in which many of our students interpret poverty or low-income jobs (although we don’t know the monthly income of any of these people). We tend to think that people that are poor have made terrible life decisions and we don’t acknowledge other challenges that have impeded people to get a proper education or a better job.

            Perhaps our understanding of these people’s economic status is not great, but at least we develop a greater appreciation for other jobs that are difficult and essential for every student. 

Finals Week Snacks

My favorite food during finals week. Glazed Munchkins.

Finals week is the time of the year when my eating habits change dramatically. Overall, it’s not very healthy, but delicious snacks become the motivation to keep working hard. During these finals week I bought chocolates, candy, doritos, cheez-it, peanuts, a large box of munchkins from dunkin donuts and I drink coffee two or three times a day. Once I finished writing a section of a paper, or I finish studying part of the material for an exam, I “celebrated” by eating some of these snacks. During this time, I take a break from studying and I walked outside of the library and look for friends or took a short walk around campus. This daily ritual, allows me to take small brakes, relax, eat some good food and stop thinking about work. However, by the end of the week, I began to crave heathly food. Perhaps healthy food is my final food reward, which is obtained when I travel back home. 

Thank You Cereal!

Every year we come around the bend of finals week, I start to reflect on why my body feels so much like crap (to be blunt). Obviously the stress of all the work and the very few hours of sleep has something to do with it, but personally I feel like what I eat is a major contributing factor to that feeling as well. I was sitting and thinking about what I've eaten this past finals week and the list is not too enticing. The main dish I consumed, was cereal. I ate it at various times in the day and night, and sometimes ate it with milk and other times ate it dry. There were also times when I would sit and eat a bowl of cereal in the dining hall, but other times where I would dump some dry cereal in a plastic baggy and munch it on the go. Cereal is never more a part of my diet than in finals week, and I believe this is because it has proven itself to be one of the most convenient meals. Like I said, I can sit and eat it or go and eat it, and even when I take the time to sit, it is a fast paced sit down meal. Also, to me, and I think to many college students, cereal is a food that does not carry a distinct label of what "time of day" food it is. I mean, sure it's mainly a breakfast food, but most of us college students don't feel very weird eating cereal at different times of day (including 12am!) Cereal also comes in handy during finals week when the dining hall doesn't have much to offer, due to the fact that we are ending the semester and not ordering more food. The cereal is always out and always in the same place. It is a food that we can rely on; you can't do much wrong with cereal. So heres to cereal, not the most nutritious food, but a helping hand to the end! 

Grocery Store Lies

I was recently strolling around the aisles of a local grocery store and found myself paying more attention to the items on the shelves than I ever had before. As this semester comes to a close, I realize how much more conscious this course has made me about the food I buy and eat. As I surveyed the various food items around me, I started to feel as if I was surrounded by lies; the lies of the grocery store. The way food was displayed and portrayed, the lack of information on the labels, just a couple of things that jumped out at me. However, one item in particular grabbed my attention; the boneless Perdue chicken breasts. 

What was it about this item? The romanticized picture of the farm. On the top of the package, right in the center was a photo of an old beautiful farm house. On both sides of the farm house sits two long structures, most likely representing where the chickens are housed. There are trees and a grassy lawn with the sun either rising or setting in the background. The picture sends a message to the consumer that Purdue raises the chicken he or she is buying on a beautiful "home-owned" farm. From taking this course, I know for a fact that this message is a lie. In the film, Food Inc., our class was able to view how Purdue really treats their product and farmers. A woman that housed chickens for Purdue allowed cameras to enter and see for themselves the horrendous conditions they are in and also explained some of the abuse Purdue puts on its farmers. The chicken house was stuffed full of chickens struggling to stay alive. They were so big that they could not walk and their legs were broken from the weight. Feces was everywhere and dead chickens were scattered across the ground. It was a disgusting scene and the woman had nothing good to say about the process and she believed the public needed to know. 

This is so far from what is displayed for consumers in the grocery store. The aesthetics of a chicken package give us a feeling of comfort, that this food came from a nice American farm house standing on the grass in the sun. I took a quick picture of the package (displayed above) and kept walking, full of disgust. It is truly amazing how to keep ourselves comfortable, we have no problem turning a blind eye. The lie of the little farm house lives on, and it lives right in our local grocery store. 

Texan Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year in the United States. What it represents to most people today is a time to be thankful for what we have. It is filled with memories of different flavors of cinnamon apple pie, turkey, cranberry sauce and in my opinion the best part, mashed potatoes and gravy. In my family thanksgiving is a strong tradition. Possibly even bigger than Christmas. Every year it is a time one can look forward to for good food, good people, and good conversation. Each member of the house hold is given specific responsibilities.

Danielle and her winning baked turkey.

 The host, my family friend Danielle is the "head chef." She over sees everyone's different responsibilities while preparing the most important part of the thanksgiving meal, the turkey. Danielle's mother, Ingrid the matriarch of the family serves as her guide. Their dynamic is very interesting. While Danielle has all of the cooking "power" she often looks to Ingrid for advice and guidance in how to make the turkey better, or if there is a specific way to mash the potatoes etc. However, while her guidance is used, Ingrid is not in charge of any main dish. Her only established responsibility is to make the cranberry sauce.

As for me and my mother, as we are family but also guests, and it is our responsibility to bring the appetizers. Our geographical location, in relation to Danielle's house dictates what food we bring, and as such, we do not cook any of the appetizers we bring. We bring food that travels easily. Furthermore, since we come from Manhattan, the lower east side to be specific, we are charged with bringing specially made, artisanal sausages and cheeses. Our access to specialty items in the city is vastly different from Danielle's home in a small suburb in New Jersey. In her community she has more access to fresh meats and vegetables, and not as much access to the specialty items. So my mom and I are made responsible for supplying that part of the meal.

The spread, courtesy of Rita and Sarah

One job that is specifically mine, is the creation of the whipped cream. In my family, we make whipped cream from scratch and since I was old enough to handle a mixer I've been making it. It was especially suited for me as I was the youngest girl in the family not allowed to touch any of the hot stoves or help with turkey. So I was in charge of whipping the cream. Since I've gotten older I've been given more and more responsibilities (I now get to make my own pies) but the responsibility to make the whipped cream is still mine. So while it was originally assigned to me because of my inability to do anything else, it became my full responsibility.

David and his proud smoked turkey

The men in my family are usually put in charge of the alcohol, and with an interesting twist, the second turkey. The main turkey, the one Danielle makes is always baked in traditional fashion. Since marrying her husband David however, another thanksgiving tradition has been added to our repertoire. We now have a turkey competition each year between the baked turkey, and David's special deep fried turkey.

The three turkeys side by side

This year, was even more special as we had three turkeys in this years competition. David's friend from Dallas Texas was put in charge of the fried turkey while David played his hand at making a smoked turkey. It was interesting to me, how the turkeys David and his friend made seemed to be more "masculine" than the traditional baked one. Both smoking and especially frying a turkey is considered to be a bit more dangerous. In Texas, I was told that during thanksgiving, houses and garages set on fire due to fried turkey accidents were a dime a dozen. There was this added level of danger to the fried turkey, making it a man's job, women and children beware.





The smoked turkey was masculine in a different way. I was given an impression that it was some sort of ode to the wild west, filled with cowboys and bad boys. These turkeys were novel, and cool. Not your average turkey and the both men were commended for it.


What I found especially interesting was the lack of appreciation for Danielle's turkey being made at the same time as all the side dishes. I felt it was almost unfair to judge Danielle's turkey against the two men, as she had been slaving over the hot kitchen stove for two days preparing her turkey and all the other dishes. Meanwhile the men were commended for any work they had done.

It was really interesting for me to experience my thanksgivings this year, with a new perspective. It was fascinating to recognize that even in a social gathering, we all had jobs, we all were working for a specific purpose, and we all were performing social roles given to us based on our gender. This is not to say any of this was wrong, but it was interesting to see how prevalent gender, and even age dictate the hierarchy within a family community, even my own.

Eating Habits of Finals Week

It's the beginning of December and it's finals week. Everyone is stressing out about papers and projects they haven't finished or even started, and studying for exams keeps us all up until the early morning. My sleep schedule completely shifts during finals week, and in response to this so does my eating schedule. My roommate and I have been averaging about 4-7 hours of sleep a night for the past couple of weeks, going to sleep around 5am most nights, so because we are awake longer, we get hungry and eat more. Our snack and easy mac and ramen storage depleted quickly since that was the only food option we had past 2am after the Loft closes. The library is open 24hours for this week, so when you're working away (or procrastinating) in there for hours and hours, you lose track of time, and by the time you realize you haven't eaten in 10 hours, it's too late and the dining halls are closed. I've gotten used to always carrying a couple small bags of snacks in my backpack, so I don't have to worry about walking all the way to one of the dining halls or about making sure I get there before they close. It's super practical and gives me something to distract myself from my work when I need a break. Also my friends are very appreciative of the snacks I keep on me.

I picked up some chicken breasts today a long with a few other things at Roche Brothers in Norton, to last me through this finals week.  I thought about what I was buying a little differently then I would have previously if I hadn't taken this class. The movie Food Inc makes me think a lot about what I am buying every time I go shopping now, but at the same time protein is essential for my diet. So, while understanding that the food system in this country may be corrupt, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy some things that could be a risk but hopefully are not. I thought that was interesting that the movie increased my awareness of these things as I went shopping today so I thought I would share this.

Norton: Where's the coffee shop?

When doing homework, and in particular when studying for exams, sometimes I like to get away from my normal study spaces. Personally, I spend a lot of time in the library throughout the year, but as it gets closer to finals week, the library gets more and more crowded - and I like to find other places instead. 

As a native of Amherst, MA, a 5-college town, I am used to having plenty of coffee shops/bakeries to choose from as a place to do homework. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find even one in Norton (although there is an abundance of Dunkin Donuts!). While the Lyons Den seems like a great place, it is not open in the morning or afternoon, when I most often want the caffeine boost and a place to work. Currently, I am writing from a Barnes and Noble Cafe in Medway, MA - about a 20-minute drive from Wheaton. While Barnes and Noble is certainly not the same as a local coffee shop, it provides a similar atmosphere; one that is conducive to doing homework. 

On the outside, this Barnes and Noble does not appear to be a nice study space. It is just off the highway, and part of a strip-mall, surrounded by a Market Basket, Moe's Southwest Grill, Staples, and McDonalds. However, on the inside, the cafe is a place where people can get a warm drink and spend an extended (or short) period of time reading a magazine, a new book, or in my case doing school work. Although the cafe is within a strip-mall, it does not feel that way on the inside, because there are so many other people around who are also there to do work or sit and read. We talked in class about the ability of food to create an experience. The warm drinks create a cozy atmosphere that makes you want to stay, and the other foods that are available (pizza, bagels, quiche, scones, cakes, muffins) allow consumers to stay for an extended period of time. The ugly strip-mall atmosphere is transformed into a peaceful place where people can sit and do work, or relax after hours of shopping.

While the strip-mall Barnes and Noble cafe is not my first preference for a place to do homework, it beats any of the other options in Norton - namely Dunkin Donuts or an overly crowded library. However, I do think that the town of Norton would be greatly improved by the addition of just one coffee shop. 

"Gourmet Eating" on Wheaton Campus

For the most part, the majority of Wheaton are on the meal plan and are served their meals by the kitchen staff.  Few cook for themselves or prepare the plates.  Food it plopped unceremoniously onto the plate and eaten; the presentation of the food is not important, just the consuming part.  But it is a creative outlet, so how to students get around not being able to fend for themselves but still feeling connected to the food provision process.  Well, the use what little they have to work with to make something delicious for themselves.

The easiest way to do this at the dining hall is with the ice cream machine, the salad bar, and the sandwich station.  While students are not directly in control of what is provided and how it looks and tastes, they do gain a sense of individuality when they can make their own combination of foods to eat.  These stations are usually constant and so they are dependable.  for the most part, you know that if you choose not to eat what is provided as the hot meal, you can still get your usual delicious sandwich which satisfies and is familiar to you.

Ice cream from the machine for example, that is as long as you do have the taste for it, will always be sweet, cold, and creamy.  It is the same ice cream maker every night, making the same type of ice cream, and usually with the usual toppings put out ready to be added.  It is a constant, dependable staple in a college kids diet.

Oh the strange combinations...

With strange schedules, late nights, and too much work, college kids often end up skipping meals or combining meals.  As a lat riser, I usually end up skipping breakfast.  But I am still hungry enough to eat food to equal the total food i would have consumed between three meals.  The difference is, I eat two meals worth of food, roughly, during one meal.  Honestly, this isn't saying much because breakfast is usually the lightest meal of the day.  But for those days I wake up at 10:30, I tend to get to the dining hall by 11:00.  So, I grab a bowl of serial, or and omelette, and then look at what is being served for lunch. But why do I do this?   I think it has something to do with routine and comfort.  My brain is used having curtain tasted and types of food first before others.  Also, out of habit, it is strange for me to eat tofu before I have had a muffin, bagel, or cereal.  Usually, people comment on this, stating that this is a strange combination.  But it is familiar, it is tradition.  Although... maybe it's only me who does this.

Finals Time

The end of the fall semester always feels extremely brief, particularly this year since Thanksgiving happened so late into November. As the stress of finals  approaches, students find themselves increasingly longing for the comforts of home from showering without shoes to home cooked meals. This is especially true after  everyone's' Thanksgiving meals. However, this does have the adverse effect of making Chase and Emerson food seem a lot worse in comparison. Taken  with the stress of finals, at this time of the year many students either eat drastically less than they should or start buying more food than usual. My roommate personally has bought 3 bags of chips to eat while studying for the next few days.I think this stretch of limited food options, does have a negative effect on student morale. That's probably the reason why the whoopee pie truck was met with so much excitement last Tuesday and why it was located outside the library to help combat the stress of studying.

I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to grill that

After finishing a night class, I went into Chase, notorious for it's extremely limited late night options. Especially after 7:30, anyone leaving a practice, class, or club meeting are restricted to very limited variety of unhealthy options. In an attempt to be creative, friends and I decided to make quesadillas with tortillas and vegetables. This option felt a thousand times more satisfying than a burger, pizza, or fries. I handed it to the employee at the grill, but he abruptly handed it back to me and said, "I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to grill this." Although I was confused, I was even more disappointed that my attempt to be creative had not only failed, but it had failed at the deliberate effort of a dining hall employee. This brought up several questions such as whether or not I want such unenthusiastic and negative employees in charge of my all my meals, not that I can blame them. In addition, I wondered if they understand the gravity of being limited to options which for the most part are unappealing, unsatisfying, and unhealthy, especially after 7:30PM.

Memories and Food

    The semester is almost over and the finish line is in sight. Christmas break is ahead with a well deserved break from school as well as a excitement for the spring semester to come. As a senior, the emotions associated finally graduating are starting to kick in. One of the more present thoughts is about the friends that I have and whats going to happen when we all go our separate ways. An unfortunate consequence of leaving Wheaton no matter how happy you are to leave is that some of the friends you've made here you will never see again. A sad truth to change that has got me thinking of the past. Looking through the photos from years passed I noticed a great deal of images of our food excursions. Traveling to Mansfield crossing for birthdays or just to go out all together. One photo I found to be particularly resonating is a photo of our suite last year gathered around a Gebbie table eating a meal we all prepared. Last year our suite decided to do a number of events to make living in the suites more fun and to get in a good laugh. This event was one of my favorites. On a Sunday morning we all decided that we were all going to cook something for a brunch. Each member of the suite was tasked with cooking some sort of dish, combing all at the end for a feast. I can remember the hardest part being finding proper cooking ware in the Gebbie kitchen. We had to improvise with about every item. In the end we all completed our dishes prepared them on a table we placed in the middle of the common room and dug in. I recall us spending more time at that table then we did in preparation and cooking.  Laughs, old stories, and plans for our next event were ever present. A topic that has been widely discussed not just in this class but also several times in this blog, is the importance of food used as a tool to bring people together. Even when it is applied to the closest of friends, it is still an important tool. The memories I made I will never forget and subsequently the memories Ive made involving food will never be forgotten.

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Tis the Season to Get Creative!

Tis the season!

Hark how Emerson seems to be giving up on actual meals!

Be jolly now that fresh crops are nowhere to be seen in Chase!

Crowd round the soup, the seemingly only good choice this season!

Be merry and rejoice the semester is almost over!

            Of course the above are just some personal observations of the dinning halls now that fall session is coming quickly to a close. The food served seems to get more and more sparse with fewer and fewer variations.

So… let’s get a bit creative here.

            You could host your very own version of Chopped, a show where you are given a set number of ingredients and have to ‘transform’ them into something completely different, tasty and creative. My friends and I did this on Sunday in Emerson- the worst day by far- and the results came out surprisingly good. From a pizza to a Thai influenced veggie wrap, we each utilized the food differently to create our own version of a healthy meal.

            Upon first instinct we might be tempted to grab a bagel and smear it with cream cheese, but I’m asking you to step away. I’ve observed that we often try and fulfill our hunger cravings with foods such as pasta, bread, bagels and any other carbs we can get. In first world America, where we do have many options to be healthy and have a balanced diet, I find we often mimic the food habits that people in the book “Dancing with Skeletons” have. In the impoverished area where Dettwyler completed her research, the children would often grab potatoes and other readily available carbs- since that is often the only choices they had- to eat whilst their bodies craved something nutrient rich to help balance a diet and aid in their physical development. Every time we grab a nutrient-empty food we forgo vitamins and minerals that could help keep us at peak performance.

            Emerson and Chase might not really offer a full variety to keep a balanced, healthy eating routine BUT this is where the fun begins. Mix and match your foods. Take pride in your college-self and eat food that seemingly do not go together. Today, for example, I ate Chinese lemon infused snap peas with a side of tofu.

            Normal enough, eh? I was able to get some greens and protein from the latter, but then I took some sweet potatoes and a banana and my “balanced meal” was complete with a drink of almond milk.

Would I ever eat the combination again?

Maybe.

Would I ever eat this anywhere else?

I hope not.

A 'normal' breakfast of bananas, cheerios, a dollop of peanut butter, and some yogurt I mixed with nutella.

I must admit, sometimes I do ‘get lucky’ and find foods that are actually supposed to go together, very rarely, but occasionally- even these foods are often supplemented with a tablespoon or two of hummus on the side.

            College is supposed to be the place where we start to act as independent entities, separate from parental oversight. If we do not start good eating habits now, then when? I know my body would slowly break down if all I ate were bagels and cream cheese- no matter how delicious. I’m anemic, but my condition is nowhere near as severe as it used to be. Looking for iron-rich foods is darn near impossible here, especially no that that spinach is not readily available at the salad bar. I really do have to come up with some crazy creations that aren’t always making my taste buds jump in delight, but the choices I make always help fuel my body in what I think is nutritional.

So cheers!

Get your thinking cap on and create!