Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Seeking new ways to raise the funds necessary for the operation of the one-week Co/Motion summer program, student members of Co/Motion will be reopening the Daily Grind coffee bar in McCabe Library from 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Monday and Wednesday nights. The student run coffee bar was closed for good at the end of the last academic year due to the program’s continued inability to break even. In the past discretionary funds from the library had been used to support the program’s budgetary shortfalls.
According to Co/Motion coordinator Sarah Langer ’07, the new incarnation of the Daily Grind under Co/Motion will be “staffed entirely by volunteer workers, which will cut the cost of running the place markedly. So, unlike the former
Daily Grind, we’ll hopefully make money instead of losing it.” The Grind will be selling coffee, tea, and “tantalizing homemade goods” such as cookies, brownies, and muffins. Vegan options will also be available.
In the past, one frequent reason cited for the poor business at the Grind was the fact that students can not use points to purchase items as they can at the Kohlberg and Science Center coffee bars. Unfortunately, under Co/Motion this will remain the case, as they will be accepting only cash. But with lower costs, it is likely that this will not be an insurmountable hurdle for the dedicated members of Co/Motion. The Grind maintains the advantage of remaining open significantly later than either of the other two coffee bars which are administered by Dining Services.
While Co/Motion derived much of its original funding from the Swarthmore Foundation and Summer of Service Internship grants, after the original season they have been forced to find other means of funding. Last year, commented Langer, “we managed to raise the money through donut sales.” The Daily Grind concept arose as a result of discussions “looking for a more regular means to rais[e] the money.”
Co/Motion is a program consisting of a one-week summer camp combined with monthly meetings during the school year for 10-13 year old daughters, nieces, and granddaughters of faculty and staff at Swarthmore College. As Langer describes it, “we run typical camp activities like swimming and capture-the-flag as well as having math [and] science projects in hopes of keeping the girls interested in and excited about math. Additionally, we have discussions about puberty, sex education, and diversity….Our goal is to serve as mentors for these middle-school girls and to give them an all-female space to enjoy themselves and the company of each other.”