Editorial

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Bring Back That Comfy
Coffee Shop Atmosphere

During the evolution of the new JCA, Multnomah lost its cafe and gained a fast-food style coffee bar and store instead.

A commuter lounge has also risen from the ashes and is not as much a place to hang out with your friends or enjoy your double tall, non-fat mocha as it is a place to cram for one's next prophets exam or write an editorial for the school paper.

The friendly barista, who used to sit and chat with patrons, is now trapped behind a counter, only able to talk to fast-moving people who shuffle in and out between classes.

Adding to the misery is an administrative plan to install a flat screen TV displaying news in the commuter lounge. And with that, the former cafe will have finished its evolution from coffee shop to commuter lounge to a cold airport-like terminal with students huddled around the TV, drinking their coffee and waiting to board their next hour-long flight into the Bible.

Although this new addition will surely be enjoyed by some, most students long for the cozy cafe in SC-1 or the original Solid Rock once located where the nurse's office sits. We are left to reminisce about what it used to be like to amble into the cafe, grab a seat in a wicker chair and relax to some sweet music and wafting smells of espresso.

But couldn't we have the best of both worlds?

The new student store has plenty of room for a few comfy chairs and tables if it condensed the metal shelves sparsely stocked with food and toiletries and relocate them to the perimeter of the store.

The TV is better suited to the game room, away from easily distracted students finishing their homework.

This way, everyone would be happy. The commuter students could chill in the lounge between classes, the news-hungry students could catch up on headlines in the game room, and those seeking a warm coffee shop atmosphere could kick it old-school on new Solid Rock furniture.

Please Multnomah, the students want their cafe back.

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