Tangents and Tirades

by The Cowl Editor on February 14, 2019


Opinion


Pile of books.
Photo courtesy of Melville House Books.

E-Tipping: Compensation for Dunkin’ Nation

Dunkin’ holds a special place in the hearts of Providence College students. The New England staple energizes exhausted students with its iced coffee, and employees always serve the much-needed caffeine with a smile.

However, since most students pay with a card, these employees could be missing out on possible tips. A solution to this problem would be the installation of an electronic tip option, as seen at other businesses, in which the customer can opt to tip through their card.

In some businesses, the electronic tipping occurs at the end of a transaction. A pop-up on the screen offers the customer to select a percentage to tip, usually ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent.

Other establishments offer a “round-up option” which gives customers the option to tip change up to the next full dollar. For instance, if a coffee costs $2.45, the remaining 55¢ can be allotted for tipping to reach a full $3 charge on the card. This works similarly to cash tipping, since the majority of tips from cash usually originate from remaining coins.

Since the Dunkin’ employees work hard to provide a valuable service, always with great effort and friendliness, an electronic option for tipping can demonstrate the appreciation for their dedication. In this way, students can thank the employees for making their beloved coffee. After all, PC runs on Dunkin’.

—Elizabeth McGinn ’21

 

‘Democracy Dies’ Ad Pays Respect to Journalists

Amongst the usual plethora of car and Bud Light commercials seen during this year’s Super Bowl, there was an advertisement that stood out among the rest: the Washington Post’s “Democracy Dies in Darkness” ad.

While Super Bowl commercials are usually funny and lighthearted, the Post took their ad in a different direction this year. They decided to highlight the importance of their work while also paying tribute to journalists who have been taken hostage and killed in the past few years.

The commercial emphasizes that “Knowing empowers us… knowing keeps us free.” It was a rare political message amid the usually light commercial breaks, but it was absolutely necessary.

The phrase itself, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” is not new for the Post—it appeared on their website in early 2017—but the need for it persists. Another phrase, almost the opposite of the Post’s slogan introduced itself around the same time: “fake news.”

Introduced in the early months of President Trump’s tenure, “fake news” encapsulates the president and his cabinet’s idea that news outlets are not presenting facts and are instead exaggerating their stories as a way to gain support in opposition to the president.

This year’s commercial seems to recognize and respond to these opinions. It highlights the importance of facts and remembers those who were forgotten for what they suffered through in order to deliver those facts.

The ad was a poignant and touching tribute to the work of journalists and the importance of facts in this polarized society.

—Julia McCoy ’22

 

If DWC Work Leaves Ruane, DWC Books Should Leave the Library

As every freshman and sophomore at Providence College is enrolled in the Development of Western Civilization  (DWC) program, the books required by most sections of DWC prove to be a hot commodity in the Phillips Memorial Library. 

To that end, the library has implemented a policy limiting the use of their stock of DWC books to a two-hour check-out period within the library. 

While this presents as logical, as these books are in high demand, it also proves problematic for students in situations where they may require book usage for a more extended period of time, such as when they are writing an essay or studying for an exam. 

Additionally, the library is connected to the Ruane Center for the Humanities, which houses all of the College’s DWC classrooms. If students were allowed to leave the library with checked-out DWC books on occasions when they forget their books for class in their dorm rooms, students would be better prepared for class as they could quickly grab a copy from the library. 

Not to mention the frequent circumstances where books for DWC become backordered in the bookstore, and in turn, a student cannot even begin his or her DWC reading until the book arrives, which in many cases consistently proves to come in the mail after their class has already read it. 

Needless to say, PC students should not be obligated to resort to book theft to merely complete their DWC homework, as this dilemma can be easily remedied—-the College should invest in more copies of all DWC textbooks and allow students to check them out of the library to use at their convenience.

—Alyssa Cohen ’21