Think About It:
Wide open arms for Class of 2011

On Saturday, March 24 the newly accepted freshmen were welcomed to Rider in a little tour/get together/brunch type affair (I don’t know if it was just me, but the class seemed to be approximately the size of Connecticut). At first glance, this would appear to be a fine idea; in fact, I’m sure the freshmen and their families were very impressed with the personable and enthusiastic nature of the tour guides. We hire good people here, the kind of people whom I’d want to meet upon my first visit to the school I’d chosen to attend. Students were taken on tours of residence halls, the SRC and the academic buildings, and it all started in Daly’s.

Any of us who went to brunch on Saturday could be forgiven for feeling like we’d never seen the place before, either.

On every table were six chocolate medallions, each about the diameter of a baseball, accompanying a lovely flower arrangement. There was a meticulously decorated fresh fruit bar, a plethora of seemingly fresh-baked desserts, a special home-made blueberry sauce to accompany the French toast, and a band playing soft jazz next to the fireplace.

Now, I can understand about putting your best foot forward when meeting new people. In all honesty though, ­— and for lack of a better phrase — come on.

Don’t get me wrong; I like Daly’s. I really do. Solid meals are served daily, the people are very fun to interact with, and it’s very rare that I have to settle for the chicken they serve between the fries and the hamburgers at the end of the line. Honestly, I believe that a lot of the people who complain about Daly’s do so out of a sense of obligation; it’s almost a rite of passage to complain about college food, just as in a few years, we’ll all be complaining about our commutes and our bosses.

That said, there’s a difference between putting your best foot forward and buying a pair of $1,500 shoes to wear for one interview. This presentation went so far beyond the routine, so far past the usual straightening up for company, that I at first worried about the eventual collective letdown that will hit the freshman class next September. Then I thought, What would it be like if this could be every day at Daly’s? Wouldn’t our outlook be at least a little bit improved if we could have this kind of meal more often?

What if we had it every weekend? How’s that for a way to reduce our suitcase-school image? “Stay on campus, and you will enjoy an absolutely excellent meal on Saturday morning.” I know we have theme nights, and those are the nights I look forward to the most. It may not sound like much, but I know that I pick up the menus every week from the table where Miss Ann and Maria sit. As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to Daly’s to get lamb chops. I look forward to a good meal at Daly’s, and I wish we had more of them.

The people at Daly’s are great; I just wish Rider would expand the budget for everything else. If you feel the same way, please let the SGA candidates know.

— JP Krahel