In part three of the four-part series, “CSB Identity Crisis,” The Record examines CSB’s motives behind the new workplace apparel preferences

by John Buethe

On March 5, an O’Connell’s student manager, Traci Holman, received an e-mail from McGlynn’s head manager, Terri Benardi, saying that all CSB student employees were asked not to wear SJU apparel to work.

The change in dress-code was suggested by CSB president, MaryAnn Baenninger.

 

Behind the scenes

Holman was disappointed by the change.

“O’Connell’s was started by students,” Holman said. “It has always been run by students, and to have this new rule implemented without any student input is frustrating.”

Holman said that it was not the change itself that bothered her, but rather the manner in which it was instituted. She also said that this process of what she considers administrative intervention has been executed before.

In an e-mail to the student body Monday, Baenninger outlined the policies she and other
administrators would be implementing concerning the new alcohol service at O’Connell’s. Within the O’Connell’s workplace, student managers were instructed via e-mail as to how the student-established restaurant would be run in the coming months.

“We were really excited to start serving alcohol and hire a new staff on our own, and now we are told that we can only hire six new employees and that we can only serve alcohol on designated nights,” Holman said. “I get the vibe from her that she does not really care about our thoughts. I would not even recognize Baenninger if she walked into the room.”

 

Conflicting motives

Baenninger insists that the change in student worker dress code does not reflect any push by the school administration to instill CSB student pride, but rather a means to alleviate any confusion visitors may have about the schools’ separate identities.

“We have a lot of visitors on campus,” Baenninger said via an e-mail statement. “Our joint and separate identities can be confusing for those visitors … We are working to eliminate that confusion by providing clear guidance to CSB employees about logo-wear at CSB campus jobs.”

In the same statement, Baenninger also comments on the pragmatic fact that student workers would not have to change their dress too drastically.

“CSB cafeteria workers, including student workers, already wear a uniform so this request isn’t a change for them,” Baenninger said. “CSB/SJU students in joint areas (e.g. Admission) are asked by their supervisors to wear CSB/SJU joint logo-wear regardless of which campus they work on.”

Bernardi said that he believes that the change in uniform policy also pertains to the recent discussion surrounding the issue of CSB identity, and not only to avoid confusion.

“There is this thought that CSB does not have the same name recognition as SJU,” Bernardi said. “We have so many visitors to the school, and we want them to see that we are proud (of CSB), not just St. John’s.”

Holman also said that she believes that this is an issue of identity and said that she agrees that St. Ben’s students should be proud of their school, but not have that pride forced upon them.

“I understand where (Baenninger) is coming from,” Holman said. “(But) many of the workers are employed through St. John’s. It just does not make sense that they can not represent their school too.”

Students were not instructed not to wear apparel representing other schools, Holman said.

 

Disappointment from the sidelines

Several St. John’s students employed by McGlynn’s expressed their disappointment with the new CSB apparel preference.

“I was just told by the management that it was about SJU being a competing school,” O’Connell’s employee and SJU senior Erik Hokenstad said. “I’m not excited about it.

First-year John Hohenstein also expressed dismay over the issue.

“(CSB/SJU) are joined schools, and I do not know what the big deal is,” Hohenstein said.

When asked to address the conflicting sentiments of student workers and managers, Baenninger refused.

“I have (provided) a thorough statement … That is the straight story that students deserve,” Baenninger said via e-mail. “(The) College of Saint Benedict is not in a competition. If there are employees who believe that it is, they are misperceiving.”

 

Plea for a change in how we change

Regardless of the intent of the new dress code, Holman believes that the CSB administration is not instituting policy in an appropriate manner.

“Any changes (the CSB administration) have made, they do not tell us why they make them. They just tell us to do it.”

With regards to how O’Connell’s should be managed, Holman offers an alternative to the e-mailed policies.

“I think that (Baenninger) should come in and talk to us before implementing new policies,” Holman said. “We would be cooperative and, in the end, implement a collaborative change.”

 

► Up next

A Pam Bacon study confirms that SJU students
relate to their school more than CSB students do.

Filed under: News by John Buethe