Over Winter Break, two vending machines were installed in Walsh Library, close to Walsh Gallery. The machines were put in due to a lack of food and drink availability in the building.
Dean of University Libraries, Chrysanthy Grieco, decided food needed to be offered in the Library following the success of GDS' program during finals week where cookies, hot chocolate and coffee were made available to studying students.
"They gave me some astronomical number about the gallons they brought here," Grieco said. "Everything was gone; trays and trays and trays of cookies."
The machines are located on the first floor of the library, even though that floor has no student study space.
"It is downstairs, and it is tucked away, and I'm a little worried because whether we keep it or not is dependent on the vendors," Grieco said. "Whether they can make enough money, I guess, from it. I would hate to lose them just because students don't know they are there."
Sophomore, Angelo Marino, echoed Grieco's feelings on the location.
"I feel like Seton Hall made a good decision by putting the vending machines in Walsh Library, but I think it would be more convenient if they were on the second floor," Marino said.
Though Grieco is happy with the presence of vending machines in the library, she said she would like to do more.
"One of my visions is to actually, one day, have a café in the library," she said.
Grieco said she envisions something similar to the Pirate's Cove in the library. Something, she claims, most universities have.
"I see students bringing things from outside and I know how much more convenient it would be if we had something in the building, especially when the student center is closed," she said.
The vending machines, Grieco said, are only a short-term solution to the problem of not having a place where students can get food in the library.
Though her dream of a café is far off, she does hope to get a cart that would regularly come to the library about two or three times a day where students could buy food or drinks.
"The cart would have maybe something like bagels and cream cheese, sandwiches and several things wrapped that could be purchased," Grieco said.
Grieco hopes to work with students and the Student Government Association to get a cart in the library by next semester.
"Before the café can happen, we need to go to the next step. To me, that step is getting a food cart, especially for the nighttime crowd," Grieco said. "At this moment, it has boiled down to just the vending machines but I hope that we can make more out of that."
There was no cost to the University to install the vending machines.
Grieco is looking for student feedback about what they would like to see in the library, and she encourages all students to e-mail her with questions or concerns.
She can be reached at crysanthy.grieco@shu.edu.
Alyana Alfaro can be reached at alyana.alfaro@student.shu.edu.
