Update, 4:13pm – Lawsuit details
Update, 4:30pm – more lawsuit details
The Fountain Hopper is live at the ResEd protest in White Plaza (start time: 2:15). The organizers expect somewhere in the region of 500 people, and national TV camera crews are also expected to be present, and two Suites chefs are also scheduled to make an appearance. We’ll be updating this post as close to real time as we can manage while our batteries stay charged…
We’ll also be tweeting with the hashtag #saveSuites and #noToResEd. Follow us at twitter.com/fountainhopper
Updates follow in chronological order.
Placards!
First people
People gathering fast now
More people gathering. Exciting, right?
Several thousand fliers, coming to a dorm near you
Speeches in the beautiful CA sun
On topo of the Suites issue, speakers also mentioned XOX’s ground lease being rescinded, card readers and dining on the Row and overall student autonomy. Lots of cheers from the crowd.
Suites chefs brought up to join speakers
Suites chefs Tony and Frank were also present, and shared their thoughts on ResEd’s forcible takeover of Governors Corner Dining Societies
Credit where credit is due – Associate dean of ResEd, Nate Boswell, actually responded to a collective student invitation and came out to answer questions. Unfortunately, not many answers were given…
Nate Boswell, Stanford Alum, Assistant ResEd Dean and former member of Avanti Dining Club
We mystically discover that the reason ResEd took this action is due to parent complaints and outstanding litigation issues. How many complaints? Six. Details on litigation? Not available. And suddenly, the backtracking:
Nate Boswell, Associate ResEd Dean: “At no point have we come to the conclusion not to rehire GovCo chefs.”
Large crowd complaining about autonomy and evasion of their questions.
In other news, our iPad only has 10% battery.
Nate does not seem to be willing to answer the crowds questions in depth.
Chef Tony gets a chance to speak.
Avanti Chef Tony, who has been at Governors Corner for 18 years, takes the bullhorn. He talks of a chronic lack of communication between RedEd, students and chefs, and accuses RedEd of “covering their asses” while trying to siphon off students’ money. Tony’s worked in dining for decades, and is “amazed by the efficacy of student management of Suites dining.”
We estimate turnout at 300+.
Crowd
Update 1, 3:25 – we seem to be pretty much done here. As far as The Fountain Hopper sees, the protest was a success as far as it got ResEd to finally get the message that people actually care. Remember to share your thoughts in out comments, which are anonymous and registration-free!
Our iPad out of battery now – stay tuned for more coverage later in the week. And remember to push that like button! But actually.
Update 2, 4:08pm: An intrepid member of the class of 2016 has found the case the Mr. Boswell referred to during the protest. It appears that Steve Roland, former Middle Earth chef, has filed a lawsuit against GovCo Dining Society and Stanford University. Here’s a link to the the Superior Court’s Docket page for this case. It appears that Roland filed a wrongful dismissal suit at the end of October 2012, naming both Stanford and the independently-run GCDS as defendants. We’ll have more as we get it.
Update 3, 4:30pm: Richard J Vaznaugh, the attorney representing Steve Roland, declined to comment on the nature of the case at this time, citing confidentiality issues. He said he would “call us back if I can help you”. The Fountain Hopper awaits with bated breath.
