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Add an EventUC Santa Cruz Terminates Historic Stevenson Coffee House
[ Stevenson Coffee House. January 12, 2016. Photo by Raine Villa. ]
UC Santa Cruz Terminates Historic Stevenson Coffee House
At UC Santa Cruz, a shift to UC Dining across campus is being perceived as part of a plan to privatize the UC. That's according to a comment by Grace Shefcik on a petition called Save Stevenson Coffee House.
John Hadley, Manager of Stevenson Coffee House for over 30 years, typed a letter to patrons and taped it on the cafe informing them of the news.
"It is with great sadness, I must inform you that in June at the end of Spring Quarter, Stevenson Coffee House will be closing for good and my time as Manager will be ending too." -John Hadley
The coffee house is a cultural institution whose history and significance extends beyond the university. Hadley explains, "Stevenson Coffee House is the oldest cafe on campus, over 40 plus years of service. When it opened, it was one of few places in Santa Cruz County to have an espresso machine."
On February 29, 2016, a photo of Hadley's letter began circulating on social media, sparking widespread concern along with the sharing of fond memories by current UCSC students and alumni, particularly graduates of Stevenson College.
By March 4, an online petition was created which has quickly gathered over 2,100 supporters in a few days. The petition highlights the cafe as providing a community space, academic setting, and an affordable eatery which offers vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, while also supporting local businesses. Other noted perks of the cafe include space for professors and TA’s (Teaching Assistants) to hold office hours and other academic meetings, as well as student-led events such as open mic and trivia nights.
Bradley Nowell, best known as the founder, lead singer, and guitarist of the band Sublime, attended UCSC as part of Stevenson College during his freshman and sophomore years from 1986-1988, just before the band was officially formed. A housemate of Nowell's in Santa Cruz recalls that he played only, "One real show from the Santa Cruz era. It was a solo acoustic show in one of the on-campus coffee shops. I don't think he advertised it at all. He just showed up, played a few 'X' covers and other songs that I can't remember and that was it. Not too many people were there." It was Stevenson Coffee House in which Nowell spontaneously performed.
Supporters and advocates for the historic cafe assert, "Stevenson Coffee House holds a special place in the hearts of many, and it would be a great loss to see it close."
Comments posted by supporters of the petition provide a taste of the cafe's history and importance.
Beverly Iniguez of Santa Cruz observes, "Every time UC Dining takes over an establishment, they increase prices and make food unaffordable for students ($7-$10 dollar meals). Additionally, this along with Cowell Coffeeshop are a huge part of UCSC history and it would be a shame to get rid of an establishment that has existed for over 40 years."
Angelica Amesquita of Santa Cruz says, "The Stevenson Coffee House should be preserved, as it is not only an important space for students and utilized by a number of professors, but also a historic landmark of the UCSC campus containing a rich history."
Kelly Egan of Hilo, Hawaii makes a plea to, "Please reconsider. It is a true hallmark of UCSC that can't be replaced."
Jennifer Lynn of Santa Cruz notes, "Stevenson and Cowell coffee shops are the best places on campus for healthy vegetarian food and locally and house-made snacks."
In a rebuttal to the petition, Anise Goldfarb contends, "The petition makes no mention of how they are repurposing the coffee shop in an attempt to cater to the needs of members of the student body, Jewish and Muslim students on campus who currently do not have kosher and halal options available to them and have been fighting for this to happen for many years now. Ignoring that fact is very sad, especially because that space will still be there, and it will still be open to everyone and it can still be a cool place to have open mic or TA meetings or whatever you want it to be."
Hadley's letter to patrons of the cafe declares, "At some distant future time, a different cafe/restaurant run by UC Dining will be opening - the concept is to be Kosher/Halal."
Supporters of the cafe state that providing kosher and halal food options at UC Santa Cruz can be accomplished without the University forcing the closure of Stevenson Coffee House and a takeover of the structure by UC Dining.
Scott Ferreter of Sacramento, California affirms, "This is one of the cultural and intellectual hubs of the campus, and it's impossible to quantify what the university would be losing by closing this space."
To see the full petition, add your support, and read more comments about Stevenson Coffee House, visit: Save Stevenson Coffee House.
Letter from John Hadley, Stevenson Coffee House
The following is the full letter by John Hadley, Manager of Stevenson Coffee House for over 30 years:
Dear Stevenson Coffee House Patrons,
It is with great sadness, I must inform you that in June at the end of Spring Quarter, Stevenson Coffee House will be closing for good and my time as Manager will be ending too. At some distant future time, a different cafe/restaurant run by UC Dining will be opening - the concept is to be Kosher/Halal.
Stevenson Coffee House is the oldest cafe on campus, over 40 plus years of service. When it opened, it was one of few places in Santa Cruz County to have an espresso machine. I have been Manager for over 30 years of that 40 plus years. Also, I worked here as a student for a couple years. I even met my wife in the Coffee House.
Our sister cafe at Cowell Coffee Shop will no longer be managed by me either but will be run by UC Dining. What comes next for me, I don't know. I have been told that I am not being fired and that I will be presented with options in the very near future.
Anyway, I am honored to have served the Stevenson. Cowell and greater UCSC communities for the last 30 plus years. I will dearly miss the interaction with students, staff and faculty. I especially will miss working with my student employees.
If you want to comment to someone higher up that would be my supervisor CAO Carolyn Golz or the person who made the decision, Asst. Vice Chancellor Sue Matthews.
With great affection,
John Hadley
Manager
Bradley Allen is a reporter and photographer in the Monterey Bay Area, and part of the Indybay collective. He graduated from UCSC, Stevenson College, in 2002 with a degree in Environmental Studies, and earned a Masters at UCSC in Social Documentation, 2008. Follow him on Twitter: @BradleySA.
Is a student coop at the location an option?
Stevenson Coffee House
Stevenson College, UCSC
One of the most popular places on campus, Stevenson Coffee House attracts students from all colleges. On any given day you’ll find numerous students, professors and teaching assistants hanging out, studying or holding office hours. The shop is staffed by students who are in control of the radio, which means there’s usually a good mix of music genres being played throughout the day. The coffee is good, and the pastries and sandwiches are even better — ask any UCSC student what their favorite on-campus snack is, most will tell you it’s a Stevenson Coffee House “fudgie,” a brownie-like dessert offered exclusively at the coffee shop. There is ample seating both indoors and out, but it’s a busy place, so you might end up sharing a couch or table.
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, closed on Saturdays, 8-11:30 p.m. on Sundays
Laptop-friendly: Wi-Fi free for students, electrical outlets available
Fair trade: Yes
How to pay: Flexi dollars, cash, (ATM in store)
- - -
Cowell Coffee Shop
Cowell College, UCSC
The Cowell Coffee Shop reopened last year, and though it’s smaller than the Stevenson Coffee House, Cowell is a great place to study. Seating is limited, however, so don’t bank on finding a table. The menu contains coffee drinks and sodas, sandwiches, salads, muffins, bagels and other snacks — notably their giant cookies, which students can enjoy on the large outdoor patio. The coffee shop is a good alternative to the dining hall if you’re stuck in a food rut.
Hours: 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:45 a.m to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays, closed on Saturdays, 7-11:30 p.m. on Sundays
Laptop-friendly: Wi-Fi free for students, electrical outlet available
Fair trade: Yes
How to pay: Flexi dollars, cash (ATM in store)
Cowell and Stevenson colleges will hold two community forums during the first week of April to gather input on proposed renovations and other changes to the college coffee shops.
The first forum will be 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 5; the second will be 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. Both will be in the Stevenson Event Center.
"We recognize that the Stevenson and Cowell coffee shops hold a special place in many of your hearts," said Carolyn Golz, college administrative officer for both colleges. "We will be soliciting feedback from community members about the upcoming changes in hopes of determining the best program requirements to meet a variety of needs."
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Then the corporate bean counters came in the form of vice chancellors who make $160k a year and their assistant VCs whose job mostly consists of how to cut out other people's jobs to save money for the University (though the high level admins never take a hit on their pay. If they can screw enough people out of their jobs or consolidate programs to save money then they move up the ranks).
The corporate admins like most hostile takeover entities don't view the uniqueness of UCSC as a benefit, instead in many ways they are brought in to normalize the campus into something that could be anywhere. Making it generic is often a goal because when a campus is too quirky and unique you then end up with pesky problems like students starting to think too far out of the box and with that you might get protests. Protests are bad. Corporate university administrators prefer sheep who will go out and make lots of money and then hopefully donate back to the U.
Significantly reducing staff and leaving low level positions as temporary or low paying but with more duties means that students get less quality interaction in having their needs met as well as increasing the stress load on lower paid workers. Constantly shifting job descriptions or threatening job losses also keeps staff in line from making too many demands. Interestingly enough,many of the lower paid workers come from long time townies who can sometimes be (behind closed doors) some of the locals who don't particularly like students and think that the University brings in too much liberalism and progressives into local politics. You'd be surprised how many UCSC staff are members of Take Back Santa Cruz.
The bottom line on most anything done on UCSC is bean counting. That's why the liberal arts part of the university has shifted to high tech disciplines instead of irrelevant degrees like ethnic studies or liberal arts which focus on humans. From transforming a traditional arts program and making it tech based to strong coordination with corporate marriages to tech groups over the hill from genetics to computer science are all part of the goal. Courses of study such as liberal arts are considered quaint and not profitable because you can't marry it to corporate research or more importantly patents.
When certain locals rant and rave about how the City on the Hill is so progressive and the students out of control it's laughable.
So Stevenson coffee house is going away and some vice chancellor will replace it with a UC run blah blah house with food from the same contracts and in many cases shitty food as the dining halls. Not shocking. Don't forget there is big money in institutional food contracts whether it be a prison or a university which might be part of this conversion.
If you want to know a particular angle about UC, always follow the money to see who is getting awarded contracts.
were they running at a deficit or was the U just wanting to consolidate control?
the kosher food argument seems strange.
why do you have to close a coffee house so students have kosher food at a dining hall?
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