Whitney McAniff may not know it, but she experienced the first sign of the imminent 2012 apocalypse.

Either the tour guide Sam Kurtz describes had a slip of the tongue, or he is referencing the undocumented 1973 on-campus speech delivered by funk pioneer George Clinton. Or maybe he actually believes George Clinton is the name of the 42nd President, which would be another foreboding sign of world destruction in 2012.

Read the rest of this entry »

Was it you, meatballs?

I know the norovirus is old news, but the whole Passion of the Organic to Go was just so weird. The University canceled its contract with the reportedly delicious Grab and Go folks even though there no real hard evidence Grab and Go was responsible. The Department of Health final report nudged us that way, though.

We got all the Department of Health e-mails on norovirus, and they had some interesting stuff. Join me as we investigate a weird meatball cover-up, an attempt to block a Leo’s employee from returning to work, and a lawsuit threat.

Probably the best part of the e-mails is the appearance of a new suspect food in the investigation, meatballs provided by Sysco. When asked where the meatballs were, Leo’s told DOH they were all gone, but apparently that wasn’t true. To the best of my knowledge the meatballs were never mentioned to students by DOH or the University. From an e-mail about food inspections from DOH’s Robert Sudler to DOH’s Feseha Woldu (emphasis his):
Read the rest of this entry »

DC’s Department of Health has released its report (PDF) on the norovirus, and they think it was Grab n Go, but they aren’t sure:

In other words, we can state with 95% certainty that those students who purchased food from the Grab and Go station on were 2.9 times more likely to become ill than those who did not purchase food from the Grab and Go station.

But if the Organic To Go people are telling the truth and they prepare all their food for several universities in the same kitchen, there should have been a larger norovirus outbreak, not just one at Georgetown.

Via The Hoya

At least 25 Georgetown students were hospitalized late last night after eating at Leo’s dining hall, according to a University broadcast email. Voice writer Vivian Chen was told she was victim number fifteen when she walked into the Georgetown Hospital last night at about 2:00 a.m, where she joined other students waiting in the emergency room.

The food poisoning wasn’t limited to Grab N Go, as Adha Mengis (COL ’11) discovered. Tuesday night, after eating in the main dining hall of Leo’s, he found himself unable to sleep due to severe stomach spasms.

Meanwhile, Leo’s has been shut down, with Altagracia and DPS Officer David Budd guarding the doors. Officer Budd is sends groups of annoyed student to the Leavey Center, where Budd says students who show their GoCards are treated to free food. Thanks, Georgetown, but no thanks.

I’ve grumbled about Aramark’s efforts to go green in the past (it’s nothing personal, I just like my milkshakes), but I’ve got nothing but praise for these stylish new Grab & Go bags.  These customized Georgetown bags, made by EcoAction in conjunction with Aramark, are a great way to lessen the waste generated by plastic Grab & Go bags that are thrown out once you polish off your bland turkey sandwich, under-ripe banana and Lays potato chips.  Not only that, but they can be folded up and stored in that little pouch on the front of the bag!  Convenient, too!

Make sure you pick one up in Red Square this week.  EcoAction will be selling them for $4 from Tuesday to Friday, 11 am to 2 pm.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Cohn

Excuse the tiresome meme, but a Leo’s employee whose name starts with an “R” and ends with an “mberto” was recently overheard arguing with a less sweater-loving cashier about security cameras in Leo’s. The latter was passionately supporting installing security cameras in the Grab ‘n’ Go nook, the better to “catch them.” The former employee, presumably realizing that pre-made sandwiches are a right, not a privilege, was less enthusiastic.

This isn’t as worrying as a keg ban or actual spooky cameras, mainly because it would only make stuffing cookies in a jacket pocket that slightly harder. It does, however, bring up a question: why are Leo’s cashiers so intense about Grab ‘n’ pilfering? The penalty when you’re caught is always just fidgeting and acting confused, but it’s a penalty they zealously impose.

Posted by Will Sommer