As the thermostat hits 90 degrees this week, students are looking for a way to cool down that is anything but sitting in their dorms all day—that is, if the air conditioning is even on.
With summer heat approaching fast, students are looking to a certain treat to cool them down: ice cream.
Ice cream is one of the most universally beloved foods. According to research from dairyfoods.com, 97% of people enjoy it, and the many contrasting opinions on it in no way detract from its popularity.
Ice cream is an essential summer—or winter—treat, and, outside of the dining hall’s ice cream, South Orange Village offers two chain shops.
Ice cream has some avid fans around campus, some, like John Artuso, a junior political science major. He believes ice cream is more than a sunny-weather sweet treat.
“I think that sometimes ice cream can be more refreshing than water,” Artuso said.
Carvel vs. Cold Stone
South Orange Village offers both a Carvel and a Cold Stone Creamery to satisfy this widely held desire—but which one do students prefer?
For Artuso, it’s Cold Stone.
“I feel like it’s the most diverse,” Artuso said. “It has the biggest array of flavors and is the most established and reputable."
Emma Wicker, a freshman entrepreneurship major, agreed, and prefers Cold Stone because “there’s so much customization there.”
Others, like senior physics major Vanessa Maiello, said Cold Stone offers “better” ice cream.
“It’s just that what they use is better taste-wise,” Maiello said.
Though not everyone agrees. Christian Abel, a junior physics major, is on team Carvel.
“I think probably because that’s one of my hometown options, so it’s like a safe spot for me,” Abel said.
Giavanna Manchisi, a junior secondary education, fine and digital art major, also said Carvel beats out Cold Stone, but for a different reason.
“When I went to Cold Stone the other day, the ice cream I got was literally soup,” Manchisi said.
When he doesn’t opt for the dining hall ice cream, Dante Younger, a junior biology major, said Carvel is his go-to and that its flavors are better than the dining hall’s.
“Some days I’ll go [to the dining hall] and my favorite flavor is mint, and when I go to the Village I’ll get the same flavor,” Younger said. “For some reason Carvel’s taste a little better.”
Fan-Favorite Flavors
But some ice cream shops aren’t just better for students because they’re familiar, it is also a matter of flavor.
For students like Maiello, Abel, Manchisi and John Giles, a freshman video production major, cookies and cream is a favorite.
“I like [Cold Stone’s] cookies and cream because I’m a plain vanilla girly,” Manchisi said. “I like vanilla [bases] mixed with other toppings, like cookie dough…and mint chocolate chip.”
Wicker also takes advantage of Cold Stone’s customization feature.
“I like doing the chocolate ice cream and mixing a fun, like, oreo or sprinkles in there,” Wicker said.
Alyson Alcantara, a freshman marketing major, said that she prefers chocolate chip ice cream.
Others have orders that are more complex and personal, like Max Merchiori, a freshman international relations and diplomacy major.
“I get cake batter ice cream with whipped topping, sprinkles, and yellow cake,” Merchiori said. “Lots of yellow cake.”
College students are known to drink large amounts of caffeine, but what about eating it? Carl Remigio, a freshman business major, “absolutely” enjoys coffee ice cream, along with chocolate chip cookie dough.
Is Ice Cream in Season?
There’s even a debate over the best time to have ice cream.
Some students, like Abel, think ice cream is best in the summer.
“When it’s warm out, I feel like it’s more soothing to have ice cream,” Abel said. “I just eat it more when it’s warm.”
Other students, like Giles, prefer ice cream when the weather is colder.
“It’s something about having cold ice cream in the winter that I enjoy,” Giles said.
Manchisi said she indulges in ice cream more so in the winter.
“You can call me crazy all you want, but having ice cream in the winter is goated,” Manchisi said. “You can’t really eat all of it before it becomes a soup in your hands [in summer].”
While there are conflicting opinions on when ice cream is in season, most students agree taking a stroll to the Village to grab a scoop or two of their favorite flavor is a quintessential part of student life .
The walk in itself is another warm-weather activity—made even sweeter with a scoop of ice cream to enjoy on the stroll. Alcantara said it is “good to go on a walk if the weather is nice.”
“I go probably once a week, sometimes with my family,” Alcantara said.
Merchiori agrees that not only are walks for ice cream enjoyable, but it’s a great time to catch up with peers.
“I just think it’s a great way to bond with people,” Merchiori said.
“I think that there’s so many things off campus that are part of the Seton Hall experience, and that’s just one of them,” Abel added. “As soon as it gets warmer, I start going more and more often.”
If the heat has been beating you down on campus, head to the dining hall where they have popular Hershey’s Ice Cream flavors like crazy vanilla, tipsy peach, cookies & cream, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate chip, raspberry, coffee and cotton candy.
Students are fans of the flavors, like Remigio, who said he likes the dining hall ice cream because “they have chocolate chip cookie dough.”
Matthew Koroski is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. He can be reached at matthew.koroski@student.shu.edu.
Lakyn Austin is the head editor of The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at lakyn.austin@student.shu.edu.
Emma Noriega, assistant social media editor, contributed to the reporting.
