Story by John Sainz, Reporter
Photo courtesy of You Visit

Moose (Cook Carriage House):

Furniture: If you’re a frequent visitor of the Moose Café, you may have noticed something a little different last week. The Cook Carriage House has recently purchased new furnishings for the campus hot spot, including wheeled tables, softer couches, and new stools. Still to come is the implementation of new ceiling-hung outlets for students to plug in their electronic devices more easily on the main floor.

Locking: Come February, the Cook Carriage House will be locking the doors at 11p.m., but you can still get in. Due to recent safety concerns, the Campus Life department implemented the new regulation for the safety of Moose Café workers, who close up at 1a.m. “It’s definitely a good thing,” said senior Emma Stanners, a veteran worker of the Moose.

Although the doors will be locking every night automatically at 11p.m., you can still get your late night coffee on. AQ students and staff can still access the building via their I.D. cards until 1a.m., and the Moose Café’s hours of operation will remain the same.

“A lot of our younger girls are the closing baristas,” Stanners continued, “We have to be here. We have access to the cash drawer, which puts us in a potentially targeted position… and I can’t imagine that it would be such a big inconvenience to use the I.D’s we have on us all the time anyway.”

Stella Sorovigas: Last December, Director of International Programs Joelle Baldwin resigned from her post in the AQ Advantage Center. 

The new hire, Stella Sorovigas, undoubtedly has had her hands full these last few weeks, but managed to send off the study abroad students flawlessly. Coincidentally to international experience, Sorovigas is originally from Greece, and the tasks of the International Programs office are likely to come second nature to her.

In addition to her contributions to diversity on the staff, Sorovigas’s resumé is just as diverse. Our new staff member recently obtained her MBA from the University of Michigan in Flint. She also has experience in a wide array of areas, from accounting and finance to volunteering and law practice. Sorovigas has been published in several textbooks, received numerous awards from her multiple honors societies, and has even practiced at Cooley Law School.

Assuming two roles, Sorovigas can be reached through both the Advantage Center at Mother Victor Flannery Hall or the International Programs Office in AB. For those who have recently applied for international programs, be sure to ask about scholarship opportunities. Be sure to give a warm welcome to our newest addition to campus, Stella Sorovigas—someone who is certainly fit to truly give our students an advantage.  

POMCO: What if there was a device that alerted Campus Safety whenever a student was in danger?

        Its called POMCO or Peace Of Mind Company. The small device can fit on a key ring and utilizes its downloadable smartphone application to connect via Bluetooth technology. The button is indented to avoid accidental dials. When pressed, the device automatically starts a call to a Campus Safety dispatcher and immediately sends your GPS location to the Campus Safety Office.  Zenon Cardenas, Campus Safety’s Emergency Management Coordinator, is a huge proprietor of the devices, and stated, “This is a company we really believe in.”

Cardenas explained that “the beautiful thing about this technology is that your information is only sent to us when you activate the signal. There is no big brother behind it; we can’t track you or anything unless you use it in a situation.”

Cardenas also explained that the device can also be used as a precautionary one, sending a signal to Campus Safety and letting them know your location and how long you expect it to take to get where you’re walking. “If you have not reached your destination by that time, the device will let us know, and send us your last 20 locations so we can backtrack and locate you if something went wrong,” added Cardenas.

Last week, the Campus Safety Office distributed a few dozen devices to students to test-pilot the new technology.

“We’re going to see how it goes, get feedback, and if it’s something the students want, we will move forward with making this an option open to all students and staff at Aquinas,” said Cardenas.