by The Cowl Editor on January 18, 2018
Opinion
College Football Playoff Needs To Be More Inclusive
At the conclusion of the 2004 college football regular season, five teams were undefeated. Only two, the University of South Carolina and Oklahoma University, could play for the national title, so three teams were left to play in lesser bowls.
The College Football Playoff was instituted in 2014 and includes four teams, as opposed to the previous two which squared off in a single game. It was also created to provide, among other reasons, a chance for lesser-known teams to compete for a national title despite their lack of affiliation with a major conference.
Yet so far, the committee that chooses which teams will play in the playoff has failed to include worthy schools that play outside the well-known (Read: higher revenue-generating) conferences.
This past season, the University of Central Florida finished with an undefeated regular season record and beat multiple nationally-ranked opponents, yet the committee failed to include them.
No team that made the playoffs went undefeated. UCF also beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl, a team that defeated two of the four playoff teams. Their exclusion has proven that the committee’s agenda does not include finding a spot for laudable teams outside the major conferences. The Selection Committee is able to rely on the argument that because schools like UCF do not play the same level of competition as the major conference schools, they do not pass the eye test and thus do not deserve a spot on the game’s highest stage.
The refusal to include UCF invalidates one of the original purposes of the playoff and forces casual college football fans to question how big of a role money plays in determining a national champion.
-Kevin Copp ’18
Alumni Hall Should Stay Open on Sundays
For those Providence College students who rely heavily on their campus meal plan for food, their dining options have suddenly been reduced thanks to the changing hours of operation for Alumni Hall and the Eaton Street Café. These are not minor changes.
Although Alumni Hall is only scheduled to close an hour earlier during the weekday—11:00 p.m. instead of midnight—the biggest, and quite possibly, most upsetting changes lie within the new weekend hours.
On Friday and Saturday nights, Alumni will now close at 11:00 p.m. instead of 1:00 a.m. This means that students will not be able to satisfy their midnight mozzarella sticks and curly fry cravings any longer. However, this is nothing compared to Sunday’s new schedule.
Students will no longer be able to get food from Alumni on Sundays at all, because it will remain closed until Monday morning. This means no more baked chicken penne, Ben and Jerry’s, sushi, or Yella’s wraps on Sundays. While students will be able to get food from the Eaton Street Café from 10:00 a.m. until midnight, it can be a trek for those who are stuck doing work on upper campus all day.
Another option for food is Raymond Dining Hall. However, weekends in Ray can be incredibly frustrating for those who attempt to eat three meals a day. Ray only serves two meals on the weekends; breakfast and dinner. Because of this, many students can find it rather challenging to find something to eat for lunch. They are left with bagels, salad, fruit, desserts, and cereal.
This is why Alumni is so valuable on the weekends. Students can get everything from yogurt and granola bars to grilled chicken sandwiches and hummus cups throughout the entire day. Also, Alumni is quick and easy. All foods can be made to-go, allowing students to return to their workspace with their food.
Although the Eaton Street Café can have their food prepared to-go, it is not the same as Alumni. Alumni’s location in the Slavin Center makes it easy for all students on upper campus, who do not have access to kitchens or kitchenettes, to enjoy quick and easy food on the weekends.
It will be interesting to see if this drastic change lasts the entire Spring semester.
While the change does greatly benefit the hardworking Alumni Hall staff members, this is definitely a frustrating change for students.
-Katherine Torok ’20