Author: Jacob Goldstein
The Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) organized its fourth annual Employee Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, Mar. 6. The event was held from 11:30-1:30 p.m. in Lower Herrick. SLAC invited all of Occidental to attend the luncheon, and worked with the Human Resources Department to give employees an extended one-hour lunch break (rather than their customary 30 minutes) in order to enjoy the event.
“Our goal for the luncheon was to plan and host a lunch for the employees that they would enjoy, with an extended lunch break,” SLAC executive board member Nina Pine (sophomore) said. “[We wanted] to fully express our appreciation of their hard work, and to show our thanks for their friendships.”
The luncheon featured a large, multicultural buffet, with entrees ranging from Pad Thai to Spanish rice. The vast majority of the food and drinks were either cooked or donated by Occidental students; the remaining portion was donated by local restaurants The Pot, Fiesta Sa Barrio and Fresh Donuts. Student volunteers staffed the buffet line, serving the food to the employees.
SLAC started planning the event at the beginning of the spring semester. Although it was the fourth year SLAC has hosted the luncheon, the club nevertheless had to overcome several logistical problems to hold the event. “The primary problem was extending the half-hour lunch for the employees into a full hour lunch, in order for them to fully enjoy the event,” SLAC executive board member Deylin Thrift-Viveros (sophomore) said. In addition, the club members also had to garner a substantial amount of food donations, get student volunteers to serve the lunch and communicate with the administration in order to plan the event around employees’ schedules.
Jessica Lobl (junior) was one of the many student volunteers at the luncheon who helped to serve the food at the buffet. Though not a member of SLAC, she enjoyed the opportunity to help out at the event.
“I think it’s really important for Oxy’s employees to know how much they are appreciated, since not many students take the time to tell them, nor show their appreciation through their actions,” Lobl said. “The SLAC luncheon has always seemed to be a nice way to show our appreciation, even though it’s just for a couple hours one day a year.”
Lobl also said the event gave her a deeper appreciation of the work that the employees put in every day. “Volunteering at this event . . . definitely made me think about little things I hadn’t considered before,” she said. “For instance, it’s really hard to stand on your feet for hours at a time-and I was only there for about two hours. It was also fun and a nice change to serve food to everyone who usually hands us items to eat, as well as to employees who usually have to clean up our mess.”
The employees also enjoyed the luncheon. Admissions Office Assistant Margo Demessie appreciated how the luncheon brought together employees from all departments, thus allowing employees to lunch with co-workers that they do not get to see on a regular basis.
“It’s nice to come to a room where I can see old friends,” Demessie said. Many other employees echoed the sentiments of Marketplace Chef Joe Parks, who noted that it was “nice for a change” to be served by students, rather than the other way around.
ASOC Finance Coordinator Gabriela Niculescu was impressed that the event was completely organized by students. “It shows great initiative on the part of the students and we are very grateful for that,” she said.
While Pine and Thrift-Viveros were pleased with the outcome of the event, both expressed frustration that some employees had been denied the promised hour-long lunch break.
“As this was the fourth consecutive year of the luncheon, we would expect it to be easy to acquire funding, and easy to get the extended lunch approved,” Thrift-Viveros said. “Even after getting the extended hours approved by Human Resources, there were still several employees who told me and other volunteers that they only got a half-hour.”
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