Dining Services increased the number of Brown student workers at Josiah's this year due to a temporary decline in interest last fall from culinary students at Johnson & Wales University.
Twenty-eight Brown student shifts were added at Jo's in October, and an additional seven were added this semester, all in food production, said Angela Sherwin '07, a student general manager for Dining Services. Additional student shifts have also been added to the Gate, Ivy Room and Blue Room for a total of 720 shifts each week available to Brown students.
Sherwin said there are several reasons for the increase - demand for food at the Blue Room is up due to the new Flex Meal Plans, while staffing was increased at the Gate in order "to focus on cleanliness and maintenance." The most significant change - increased shifts at Jo's - were created to replace positions previously staffed by JWU students.
"We had a real challenge retaining Johnson & Wales students," Sherwin said, adding that Brown students have consequently taken on new responsibilities in food production.
Sian Kieran '09, who works at Jo's, said Brown students used to work mostly as cashiers, but their responsibilities are increasing. "I just do the deli, and I did quesadillas the other night," she said.
Ann Hoffman, director of administration for Dining Services, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the late hours at Jo's - closing time was extended to 2 a.m. in 2004 - have contributed to staffing troubles.
"I think our extended hours have contributed to the difficulty we've had keeping a full complement of Johnson & Wales student employees," Hoffman wrote. "Working until 2:15 (a.m.) or later is difficult for anyone who has early classes but particularly for people who then have to travel some distance back to their campus."
Alcohol-related disturbances at Jo's on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights have also played a role in turnover, Hoffman added.
"I am aware of at least one female JWU student employee who, when she gave her notice, indicated that she didn't 'feel safe' working in that environment," she wrote.
But interest from Johnson & Wales students has picked up in recent months.
"The challenges that we were experiencing last semester are not as dark as they were. So now Josiah's has more Johnson & Wales students doing food production," Sherwin said.
Sherwin said Dining Services plans to maintain the increase in Brown student workers at Jo's, even with renewed interest from Johnson & Wales students. "I would anticipate keeping the level of staffing from both JWU and Brown students the same as it is now, as long as both programs prove sustainable," she said.
There is a long history of student workers from Johnson & Wales at Jo's - in 1997, Johnson & Wales students started working at Brown through a co-operative/internship program, said Retail Dining Supervisor Sean Debobes. "Brown provides a great opportunity because (it has) a wide variety of food service, especially if you're interested in university food services," he said.
Debobes was a co-op student at the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall while completing his degree at Johnson & Wales.
"(The program) started to pick up more and more as Josiah's was harder to staff with Brown workers in the late '90s, so we started retaining co-op students after their co-op was completed," he said. "It all started snowballing until we now have Johnson & Wales students who didn't even work as co-op students."
Debobes said he is optimistic about the program's future. "It's a very symbiotic relationship. It's a great program that we are happy to have," he said.
