Dining hall to rid Saga name

     Saga, one word that could evoke many different images or emotions, and for the past 22 years the unofficial title of GCSU’s student dining hall – and a name whose own saga may soon end.
     The proposal to officially name GCSU’s dining hall developed during an Auxiliary Services meeting held several weeks ago. University Auxiliary Services is a branch of GCSU’s administration that includes services such as The Village, PawPrints Bookstore and student dining.
     Sodexho, the company currently providing campus dining in the Maxwell Student Union for GCSU, bears no affiliation with the name “Saga,” a food services vendor that dissolved in 1988. Like many universities did, GCSU ended its contract with Saga in 1986.
     Saga’s reputation grew very questionable toward the end of its existence and was known for poor service and food quality. Because GCSU has never given its dining hall an official title, Saga has remained its unofficial moniker.
     The tradition has been perpetuated by a lack of replacement, the simplicity of using the word, and a lack of initiative by succeeding food service providers or auxiliary services to push for naming the actual dining hall.
     Greg Brown, GCSU’s associate director of Auxiliary Services, is a part of the committee discussing the name change, which also includes GCSU’s Student Government Association and Sodexho. The possible change is intended to coincide with renovations that are planned to begin in the dining hall this summer.
     In the midst of that discourse, making ‘Saga’ the dining hall’s official title was presented. The proposition didn’t win many over.
     “Given the history of Saga, this may be a tradition that should go away,” Brown said.
     Brown, like many, believes that traditions should carry meaning and come by design, not circumstance. GCSU students have nothing else to call their dining hall.
     The actual naming process is very involved, and various circles within GCSU and the Board of Regents must approve a submitted name. Whether the naming will be decided by vote or by committee is undecided.
     One idea brought to the table was “The Max,” a reference to the building’s official title, The Maxwell Student Union. A successful television show from the early 1990s also depicted a school cafeteria nicknamed “The Max” which was a popular hangout for its characters.
      “Students have to call it something, and “Saga” is easy to say,” SGA president Ryan Green said. “We don’t want to name it anything that won’t be received in a positive manner.”
     Twenty years after the fact, the name of “Saga” lives on – for better or worse. After Saga’s 1988 demise, the Marriott hotel corporation purchased it. Marriott’s venture into the dining industry and their presence here at GCSU would be short-lived.
     Neal Seigler, Sodexho’s general manager, is fully aware of the dining hall’s identity issues.
     “It’s a tradition that’s happened here,” Seigler said. “It’s not that it bothers us; it’s just not our name.”
     If an official name cannot be settled upon, next year’s class of incoming freshman, like many before them, will know their dining hall as “Saga.” After all, what are they suppose to call it?
     “Not many people at this college have ever asked, ‘what’s the real name of this place?’” said Brown.
     The ironic saga continues.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 25 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry