In the afternoon of October 6, 2022, police and firefighters responded to a call at the Stockdale Center. The Stockdale Center, the social and dining hub for all nine hundred students on the Monmouth College campus, had caught fire in one of its store rooms, causing the three-level building to fill up with smoke and triggering the fire alarm system.
“We saw and smelled the smoke before the alarms went off,” says Satyr Keeling who at the time was in the lower level of the building and close to the origin of the fire. Keeling was with student Eli Douglas in the newly founded Highlander Hub at the time of the fire, just a few doors down from the storeroom where the fire started. “We went out the back door and it was only when we were halfway up the steps that the fire alarms went off,” said Douglass.
The Monmouth Fire Department responded to the scene at approximately 2:15pm, not long after the fire started, but not before significant damage had already occurred to the building. No one was injured by the fire in Stockdale and the students and staff who were in the building were able to exit safely. “An investigation (into what caused the fire) is underway, these things take time,” said a representative from the Monmouth Fire Department.
Given that Stockdale was the center of dining services on campus, feeding three meals to students seven days a week, this posed an immediate problem for Aramark employees and students alike. That evening, local and chain restaurants sent hundreds of pizzas to the new Trubeck Amphitheater that were handed out to students.
“It was good that they found a solution so fast,” says Caden Casto, a freshman baseball player who only learned of the fire after he returned to campus from practice that night. “I was relieved the school had food for us, rather than me having to go buy something.”
However, the pizzas were only a temporary solution. At this point, it was uncertain whether it was safe for employees to be in the kitchen, which made it impossible to serve meals on Friday, October 7. With help from local restaurants such as Alfano’s and Subway, meals were made possible until the reopening of the kitchen the following week.
While the kitchen passed a health and safety inspection, the Stockdale dining room is still unfit for students. Thus, all meals moved to Mellinger Commons on the ground floor of the Center for Science and Business in a makeshift cafeteria complete with two buffet lines, a salad bar, sandwich station, and plenty of tables to seat students.
When students returned to campus after Fall Break on October 17, meals would be cooked in the Stockdale kitchen, and then transported across campus to Mellinger Commons. Although meal choices are limited, students with special dietary needs are
encouraged to speak with Dean Karen Ogorzalek about receiving the proper food for their individual diets. One Aramark student employee said meeting these dietary needs is challenging, “We are trying our best to accommodate them with what we have in stock.” However, with the limited supplies after losing so much to the fire, that is more difficult now than it will hopefully be later on.
Many rumors spread among students, faculty, and staff connected to circumstances surrounding the Stockdale Center and dining services.
After an October 21st protest held by some Aramark employees about potentially unsafe working conditions in the Stockdale kitchen, a post was made on a Monmouth affiliated Facebook page, making accusations about the conditions of the building and the way that the College was handling it. Those accusations included lack of hot water for washing dishes, inadequate health inspections, and unsafe working conditions for Aramark employees.
Upon conversation with Monmouth College President Clarence Wyatt, Karen Ogorzalek, Dean of Students, and Holly Tharp, Vice President of Finance and Business, those accusations can be answered. When asked about the temperature of the water in the building, Tharp assured “There is hot water being provided for the employees, and in the dish room there is hot water being provided by steam and there are also sanitizers in the dish room. That's standard.” Tharp also assured that there was a thorough investigation done by the health department and that the kitchen is safe for cooking and to be used by Aramark employees. “We have been working with the Health Department closely from the beginning,” said Wyatt. “The director of the Warren County Health Department was back in both the kitchen and in Mellinger Commons this weekend and all of the protocols that should be followed in terms of food preparation and handling are being followed.”
Even though the dining room may be closed and meal options may be limited, there are many ways the College is trying to keep spirits high. One of those ways was the reopening of Einstein Bros. Bagels on October 20. Einstein’s is now offering their full drink menu as well as limited options of breakfast and lunch sandwiches in the Hewes Library across from the ACE. On Thursday October 20, at the Scots Student Senate roundtable talk, the idea of “food truck Fridays'' was introduced. If these events were to take place, they would most likely be free of any additional cost to students and be included under their already existing meal plan. To learn more about special dining services events, be sure to check email updates from Dean Ogorzalek every Monday.
The fire in Stockdale has been impactful to many students, whether it is due to dietary needs, the wish to find outside food off campus, or even just an inconvenient change of location.
“It’s devastating,” said sophomore Lauren Covington. “I feel like a lot of students have been spending their own money instead of eating the food that's been served. That's unfair to the college and the students.”
Some students may be wondering whether or not there will be a reimbursement or change of meal plans of any kind. “We haven't discussed anything as far as changing the meal plan at this point, we are really focusing on getting the meal service to the quality that is required,” said Tharp. ”We are giving that a chance to get improved here… right now those discussions are not happening.” Students with ideas and suggestions are encouraged to respectfully voice their opinion to the Scots Senate and administration.
Dining services aren't the only thing relocated or changed after the Stockdale fire. The Stockdale Center was also home to the mailroom, Scots Market, Scotland Yard, the Highlander Hub, and the meeting place for multiple campus organizations. While Scotland Yard and Scots Market remain closed, more staple food options are available for purchase in the POD in the CSB right next to Mellinger Commons. A variety of snacks, drinks, and even some prepackaged meals are available for grab and go. The mailroom has since been moved to the second floor information desk in the CSB. The Highlander Hub, a new center for food and clothing donations, has been relocated to the Hewes Library.
According to an email update from Wyatt on Tuesday, BluSky, the remediation and reconstruction company hired by the College and its insurer, began its work in Stockdale on Monday October 24. Currently, BluSky is working on the plan for their work. “Even with the kitchen having been cleared by the Health Department, one of BluSky's first tasks this week will be to do a deep cleaning of that area,” stated Wyatt in that email.
Mia Martino - Staff Writer