During Fall Break at Covenant College, dining services and other sects of the school were closed as students left campus. But as students were preparing to return, they heard that their main campus café, the Blink, had been shut down due to a maintenance issue. Students received an email the 19th of October informing them that the Blink would be closed due to facility repairs for the same evening that they were supposed to return to normal operating hours.
Following up on the 20th, Covenant students received a second email extending the closure till the 21st due to complications with those repairs.
“They were having issues with the water pipes, so maintenance had to go fix it and rearrange some things in the wall,” said a Blink employee, February Stamper.
Thankfully, not many employees lost much work time, since they could just serve in the Great Hall or somewhere else for their hours. “They just moved me over to the dining hall. I just helped Miss Sheila let everyone in and sign them in, but I didn’t lose any work time,” Stamper said.
This was an extensive repair that prevented students from acquiring their favorite buffalo chicken wrap or a fantastic smoothie from the Blink. So students are certainly happy to see the Blink running smoothly again.
The energy in the Blink is inviting and comforting, so there was a bit of a sad feeling when students decided to go after break, only to realize again that it was still closed even after the break, but for a different reason. It just turned into a long week with no café study time on campus, but it is revived. The students are also ready to receive a second round of Blink bucks for this year because they get spent so fast.
“I like the chill setting and how everyone here is so positive. If I worked at a Starbucks anywhere else, the experience would be a lot different just because of the people that would be coming in,” Stamper said. She described the Blink as a blessing as she had come from a very different atmosphere working at a Starbucks in the Savannah airport.
“The type of people here makes it a lot better because I was dealing with people in a rush, people cussing at me, and wanting me to do the impossible just because I have the little name badge on. There were lines a mile long, just craziness, so to come here is definitely a blessing,” Stamper said.
It is wonderful to hear that the employees at Covenant appreciate the environment at the Blink and that they feel more respected as employees on Covenant's campus compared to previous work situations. There is an unspoken realization of the necessity of places like the Blink, and the brief lull in the operation of our campus cafe may have reminded us to take advantage of this place. It can encourage community and be a place full of enjoyment, study or respite separate from the fast-paced nature of the college rush, and sometimes just because of the people that are part of it. Fall break has come and gone, now full speed ahead for the latter half of the semester.