Campus Living Writer
So, my friends and I were talking yesterday while having dinner at Moon on South Dixie about how rarely we’ve gone inside the University Center (or the UC) to shop or see what’s really in there…and we’re juniors for chrissakes! My boyfriend Robert and I met for lunch at the StormSurge Cafe – my sandwich was only okay and it was raining and the sky was already dark outside (it was only noon) – which might’ve had something to do with it, huh girls? I don’t usually go to the food court – excluding my sophomore Jamba Juice craze – and Sbarro’s just looks greasy and unhealthy. For whatever reason, when I need an ink pen or condoms, I go to the Eckerd’s across from school and I just use the vending machines to buy Dasani or bring an Evian from our pad in Oasis. This got me thinking: What is in the C-Store on campus? Well, my new fellow readers, I decided to do a little research and find out! Here is what I found – if you live off campus, just use this as your guide and thank me later. There are two entrances to the C-Store, one of which is past the ATMs of the UC outside and through two double-doors (which are not automatic). On the way there, there’s a Ticketmaster in the middle – it’s just a tiny window where some freak works all day – it’s okay, I didn’t know that either! The other entrance is from the inside of the UC past the aforementioned StormSurge Cafe. There’s a park-like bench and two matching chairs right outside of the store for students to read a paper or wait on a friend. I decided to take a seat and observe which entrance was more popular (just for a half-hour). During this time, I counted six people who entered through the “Ticketmaster entrance” and eleven people enter through the inside entrance – all employees were excluded.
The employees at the C-Store who were working on a Sunday were all 30-50 year old nice women and one guy who went into the back and didn’t come out until I had probably left. Their attire was orderly, if a little drab for UM standards: black work shoes, black work pants, knit green collared shirts, and nice, burgundy aprons. After a little confusion trying to explain that I write for Campus Living, I took a “little” look around. There are only four aisles in the C-Store, which I found surprising – I thought it was bigger – a common mistake on my part. Before we start, remember that I am going from left-to-right upon entering the store. Based on the few minutes I was there, aisle one seems most popular – it’s the aisle with the coolers of drinks, starting with various white, chocolate, and strawberry milks (McArthur Dairy), bottles of Star Bucks Frappuccino and, yes, I was stunned too, sushi. According to a sign outside, the sushi is “prepared fresh daily” (maybe by that guy in the back) from fresh tuna, salmon – nothing fancy – and sells for $4.40 – think platters from Winn-Dixie – a tiny hint of class that probably distinguished UM’s C-Store from other colleges. There are also Lunchables Deluxes (for visiting children) and cold-cut sandwiches that look disgusting. Before we breeze through the soft drinks – there’s also H