Tag: Anthony Bateman ’21
Nitro Cart “Rolls Up” to PC Campus
by The Cowl Editor on September 27, 2018
Campus
By Anthony Bateman ’21
The Nitro Cart, a local Rhode Island coffee company, began setting up shop across the street from the Huxley Avenue gate on Eaton Street, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cart had originally visited campus on Sept. 6, but began regular hours this week.
Zach Fin, one of the workers handling the cart, got the chance to talk about some of the history behind the company and its origins.
“The Nitro Cart started about three years ago,” said Fin. “The owners Audrey and Sam basically learned what nitro coffee was and they just loved it. They wanted to put it on a cart because they thought it would be really cool to bring it into the streets.”
Nitro Cart coffee can not only be bought from the carts themselves but also in local eateries across the state. “They ended up installing taps in places like PVDonuts, Rebelle, and Wildflour, so it became a really big thing for the community,” Fin explained.
The specific nitrogen coffee found at The Nitro Cart is unique to their brand and differs from typical nitrogen coffee found elsewhere.
Fin explained that they work with a local roaster to create a signature blend, and they source their beans from many different places around the world, giving it a unique flavor. Fin also explained, “The nitrogen gives it a very creamy texture; it takes away a lot of the bitterness and acidity.”
Taylor Wedge ’21 and Ali Troup ’21 were there checking out the spot last Friday. “Well I’ve had nitrogen coffee before, but this has a lot more options using the nitrogen coffee,” said Wedge.
Both Wedge and Troup said that they enjoyed the coffee and would definitely recommend The Nitro Cart due to its high quality and variety of flavors.
The Nitro Cart got the idea to set up across from the campus through Rachel Rockwell ’20. Rockwell, although a native of Cleveland, Ohio, runs the Instagram account @eatlocalrhodeisland.
Rockwell is well acquainted with Audrey Finocchiaro, one of the founders of The Nitro Cart.
“I was just trying to get them to come on campus,” Rockwell explained.
Rockwell enjoys photography, taking pictures of local food, and posting them on her Instagram account, which is well-known throughout local venues. “They knew my Instagram account,” said Rockwell.
Although her Instagram has a lot of followers, not many people know that she is the real-life person behind it.
“I didn’t actually reach out to them, to promote them to come on campus,” Rockwell mentioned, “I was just sitting in Nitro one day, I was wearing a Providence College shirt, and one of the workers that works at the bar came up to me.”
Rockwell is a frequent patron of The Nitro Bar, one of The Nitro Cart’s home locations, which is located in a bike shop in Providence.
“It’s like a coffee bar, but the owner of Dash Bicycle Shop, on Broadway, he really likes their coffee, so he incorporated them into a bar because they were looking for a location,” she added.
In addition to their coffee, Rockwell is also a fan of The Nitro Cart’s atmosphere and resolution to create a cleaner environment. All the carts serve paper straws and eco-friendly plastic cups.
The Nitro Cart is a local growing business, opening locationsthroughoutConnecticut,Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. For a full list of places that serve its nitrogen coffee on tap, head to www.thenitrocart.com.
PC Debate Society Looks to National Stage
by The Cowl Editor on September 21, 2018
Campus
by Anthony Bateman ’21
News Staff
The Providence College Debate Society is looking forward to their first competition of the year this Friday, September 21, at 4:30 p.m. at Boston University.
The Debate Society is the longest running club in PC history and has been active for the past 97 years. Members of the club take pride in its sense of tradition, as well as its role in the PC community.
Carly Martino ’19, co-president of the debate society, said that they “are the only club that represents the college on the national level in an academic way.”
The upcoming competition is the first of many for the club that will take place throughout the school year.
“Every year, we travel to other universities across the country to debate other schools in five rounds of parliamentary style debate,” Martino explained.
The seasoned members of the debate team, however, are not participating in this weekend’s event. “The tournament is a novice tournament, which means that each participant is new to college debate, and this is their first experience debating in college,” Martino said.
The more experienced debaters have been mentoring their new teammates for the upcoming competition.
“This past week and next week, we have been teaching the new members the debate basics on how to take notes, how a round is structured, etc.,” mentioned Martino.
Martino commends the new members’ willingness to learn and encourages them to try to make the most of their first debate experience.
“It is a lot to learn in such a short time, but the tournament is a great chance to get exposed to the style and format of the debates, as well as a good environment to learn and get feedback from experienced debaters,” she said.
Co-President Annie Butler ’19 also praised her new teammates’ desire to learn and improve their debate skills.
“We have a ton of new novices who are already really dedicated to the team and who are itching to get to our first tournament,” she mentioned.
Butler believes that the upcoming competition will have a positive turnout for not only the new members, but also for the team as a whole.
“This is the biggest group of novices we’ve ever taken to a tournament. We have just under 30 coming. I’m really expecting at least a few to rank nationally,” Butler said.
Noah DeRossi-Goldberg ‘22, a new addition to the team, voiced his concerns about his upcoming performance. “Much like any other competition, there is an overwhelming amount of nerves. To compete on the collegiate level in anything is difficult, but to compete in an intellectual challenge against some of the brightest young minds in the country is truly a daunting task,” he said.
Although he might be experiencing some first-time stage fright, DeRossi-Goldberg expressed he feels up to the challenge.“Thankfully with the help of some amazing debate veterans here at Providence College, I feel prepared for what is to come. I’m excited, and ready,” he said.
The debate society is still looking for new members and is open to any student with some interest in argument or debate. Those interested should email Hannah Wickstrom ‘21, the club’s secretary.
Friars End Summer With A Bang At Provapalooza
by The Cowl Editor on September 13, 2018
Campus
By Anthony Bateman ’21
News
The Providence College Board of Programmers (BOP) held its traditional Provapalooza to bring students together for the start of a new school year. The event took place between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, September 8 on Smith Quad.
The theme of this year’s event was that summer does not have to end. However, the cool temperature and the clouds in the sky might have signified to some that autumn was approaching sooner rather than later.
The annual fall festivity included lawn games, an inflatable slide and “wipe-out” game as well as a polaroid souvenir station. T-shirts and crafts were also made available to attendees as part of the celebration.
Tables and chairs were set up across the lawn for people to sit and chat. Some could be seen simply lounging on the grass. Students were laughing and joking amongst their friends, holding on to some of the fun they had this summer.
Students enjoyed food while listening to the live entertainment provided by the band, The Naticks. Food options included barbeque as well as food trucks filled with Spike’s Hotdogs and ice cream.
Morgan Weiner ’21 was in attendance, grabbing some food with her friends. “So far, I’ve enjoyed that a lot,” said Weiner, who was also looking forward to trying the inflatable slide.
Weiner heard about the event through Instagram and again through the Daily Mail. She also recommended that students definitely should have stopped by, if they had the chance.
BOP set up and organized the event for students on campus.
Megan Donadio ’19, a member of the BOP social committee, and one of the organizers of Provapalooza, explained that “BOP is one of the major student-run organizations on campus. It consists of 10 committees and an executive board and it’s typically made up of about 60 people.”
“Our main focus is to put on really awesome, exciting events for the campus. These events can range from something as big as Provapalooza or something as small as a movie watch,” said Donadio.
BOP holds a wide array of events throughout the school year.
Megan Yaeger ’19, also a member of the social committee and one of the other key organizers of the event, explained that the different committees within BOP plan off-campus trips, hold a concert in the spring, and even bring guest speakers to campus.
Provapalooza “always happens in September and we always have Clam Jam in the spring” explained Donadio. Clam Jam is “an outdoor event, where we have vendors come with outdoor activities. Provapalooza is the beginning of the year big celebration and Clam Jam is our end of the year celebration,” added Yaeger.
“Our whole goal is to make everyone on this campus feel very included and feel like they always have something to do, and a place to go, and have fun, and meet people,” said Donadio.
PC Students can anticipate many more events provided by BOP throughout the coming school year.