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.
Providing much relief to students studying late at night and in a need of caffeine break, McCabe will soon regain its coffee bar. After a one and a half year hiatus (not counting a very brief episode last fall), the coffee bar will most likely be open to students and staff after October break. The coffee bar will be open on Monday through Thursday from 10:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., after the Kohlberg and Science Center coffee bars are closed. Saturday hours from noon to 4:00 p.m. have also been proposed.
The Swarthmore Business Association, pioneers of the reopening, are working toward incorporating the points system for the coffee bar. The lack of the points system at the old McCabe coffee bar, the Daily Grind, contributed to its demise. Members of the Swarthmore Business Association will be meeting today to determine the feasibility of the system. “We are pushing very aggressively to have the points system; luckily everyone seems to be very favorable to the idea,” said Oswald Espinoza ’06.
Currently, the coffee bar is open on Tuesdays and Sundays from 9:00 PM-11:00 PM for the use of Cookies for Change. “We want to continue working with charitable organizations who want to use the coffee bar to sell goods,” adds Andrew Rindfleisch ’06. The new coffee bar is very open to needs of Swarthmore’s students. “We want to give the students what they like to eat; we’re very flexible. It’s important to give the campus what they want,” commented Espinoza. Surveys will be conducted to determine students’ preferences. Starbucks coffee, along with various types of snacks such as chocolates, is a possibility, ensuring that the student body will have enough energy to cram for those exams and write those ten page papers.
