The Franciscan Justice Circle, a new group on campus, has created a petition to increase the Knights Cafe hours.
This year the Knights Cafe is only open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Students used to have the option of getting all three meals from the Knights Cafe, and now they complain that they can barely afford the time to get one.
Gianna Perez, a freshman on campus, brought up that when students have multiple classes during the hours of operation it can be hard to get food.
“You don’t have time to wait for 30 minutes and then eat really fast,” said Perez.
These are the concerns the group wishes to address. Director of Campus Ministry, Guilherme Lopes, is guiding the group and says its purpose is to learn how to voice concerns in a productive way rather than just complaining or taking it to social media.
“Students have shared their frustration on the hours of Knight’s Café and the common hour, so this is an attempt to turn a frustrating situation into a moment of advocacy,” said Lopes.
Ashley Neff is one of the main students running this petition. She shared that it has been pretty successful because many students feel passionately about these reduced hours. Although some have been afraid to sign.
“There are some who say they can’t sign the petition because of their position with the school and fear of getting in trouble, which is very unfortunate,” said Neff. She shared that the group just handles this with positivity.
Despite getting around 200 signatures so far, some students have not heard about the petition yet. Kyanni Harris, a sophomore transfer on campus, shared her experience which highlights the lack of exposure the group has gotten.
“Honestly I haven’t seen this petition, but I’d sign it if I had,” said Harris.
The group plans to take the petition to the Student Government Association and request a follow up to address any and all concerns they have.
“We are very grateful and thankful for those who are signing it and helping our cause,” said Neff.