The new café will serve smoothies and other drinks and snacks, as well as offer another place for students to spend time during frees. The café should provide many perks for students, especially less chance of getting kicked out of the library for overcrowding a table. Photo by Kate Waisel.
Students frequently crowd into the library, sitting five, six, seven or more at a table intended for four, eliciting reprimands from the librarians. Students often pile in there, not to do work, but merely because it’s one of the few spaces to be during a free in the high school. There now seems to be a solution: a new café.
Proposed by Dr. Jamie Chisum and Student Congress (StuCo), the café will be open all day for students, while the cafeteria is only open for limited times throughout the day. The café also plans to offer a different selection than the cafeteria such as smoothies and juices, as well as various snacks.
Students will pay in the same manner as they pay for food in the cafeteria, using the code for their school account. The high school’s current food provider will also provide the food here. Because of this link, costs for the school will likely not be raised, but the administration will handle logistical issues as the plan becomes more definite.
There is a grant proposed to the Wellesley Education Foundation for funds to get high top tables for the café.
At the moment, the plan is to sell food where the vending machines used to be or where they currently are, and to have the tables along the wall of the auditorium next to the cafeteria.
While there is no definite date of when the café will open, the hope is that it will open this spring.
“I would love it because I am always looking for somewhere to go during frees if I do not want to go to the library, and it would be great to have other drinks during the school day. I definitely think that students will take advantage of the café,” said Bridget Ulian ’19, StuCo Secretary.
Students often go to the library during frees to meet with friends, but this often causes distractions for students who are there trying to get work done. Seats are often limited due to the high numbers of students there before school and during their free blocks, leading to some students having to leave. However, there are limited options for them to go elsewhere.
Having been on both sides of this situation, Prachi Kelkar ’20 thinks the new café will remedy this problem that many students face.
“I often see people meeting in the library just to hang out with their friends, which really bothers students trying to get work done, but you can’t blame the people being loud because it’s hard to find somewhere else to go before school or during frees,” said Kelkar.
This problem has been prevalent for awhile, and students have been very vocal about it.
“We've discussed a lot in Student Congress about the need for a social space for students so that the library can become more of a study space, and I think this is a great solution to that,” said Julia Himmelberger ’18, StuCo Vice President.
More than just taking pressure off of the library, this space will also provide an area for students to take a break and be less stressed throughout the day.
“I personally love the café. I think the school needs more places where the emphasis is on relaxation and community,” said Kate Dario ’18, StuCo President.
As the plan is not yet in motion, StuCo leaders, Dr. Chisum, the head of food services, and student council will continue to work together to finalize it and put it in action.
“I think it would just be a nice, not like a destressor, but something to show that we care about students’ wellbeing instead of leaving them to find their own food or drinks,” said Mr. Zach Nicol, StuCo advisor.