ORCSA To Terminate RSO Program, Become Coffee Shop

By Senior Director For Coffee Life Sarah Cunningham

Aug. 4, 2013

Due to the overwhelming feedback we’ve received from students concerning our plans for Hallowed Grounds, the Office of the Reynolds Club and Student Activities has chosen to shift its focus away from the recognition and advisement of student groups, and to function solely as a coffee shop.

Beginning Autumn Quarter 2013, ORCSA will no longer offer facilities, staff or resources to any purpose excepting the sale of coffee and snacks. We have always appreciated student input, and the most recent outcry was impossible to ignore. The response has been unanimous: students aren’t interested in having RSOs at all. You are much more interested in cool sofas, prepackaged noodle bowls, and, of course, a variety of coffee products. We heard your voices, we entered into deliberations with your desires in mind, and ORCSA wants you to know that it is very excited about its new coffee-exclusive direction.

In retrospect, it was only a matter of time before ORCSA made this change. Our organizational structure, our personnel, and our taste in music are all much more in line with the business of maintaining a consistent coffee drink and a vibrant coffee shop atmosphere than they are suited to anything student activity-related. As soon as I heard myself say the words “Lounge-like use of the space,” I knew that I was ready to quit composing PR legalese and start curating gravel-themed playlists and crafting milk foams. Thankfully, the students spotted ORCSA’s bullshit a mile away, and I am so excited to be moving from my current position into the role of barista/DJ.

By September 23rd, ORCSA will have ceased all current ventures, and will operate coffee shops exclusively, opening new locations on the first through third floors of the Reynolds Club, (we really sense demand for a coffee shop-style space in this building), on the first floor of the Regenstein Library, and in the basements of Cobb Hall, the BeckerFriedman Institute, and Pierce Tower.

Thank you for your understanding and support throughout this exciting transition. We hope to be even more responsive to student concerns in the future, at least until we replace our comment box with a tip jar and a thing of half-and-half .