By Alyssa Harmon
Students who are new to Harbor Hall will walk into the building and see two shiny new vending machines in the lobby of the building.
Those students may not even notice them, but veteran English and graphic design majors are incredibly excited and grateful to have them.
In Harbor Hall, students learn to appreciate the little things.
For example, the air conditioning. Harbor Hall didn’t have AC on the second floor from the end of February until the beginning of April.
The building had old, broken, and torn furniture for years, until updated chairs, couches, and tables were recently added in.
Despite many repairs on the building, the roof still leaked in some classrooms when it rained.
And up until two weeks ago, the building didn’t have any vending machines, either.
Located on the fringe of campus, students in Harbor Hall are distanced from the rest of campus. Some students complained that there were no options for food, which highlighted the issue that the building did not have its own vending machine.
For those who had night classes, their closest options for food or drinks was at LPH, the vending machines in the library, or the Tavern or Reef (both of which close early). However, that also includes at least a 10-minute walk in the dark across campus.
Some students even went so far as to drive to a downtown restaurant to get food during their night class’ 15-minute break.
But all of that changed when Dane Bernard, a senior English major, stepped in.
During one of his night classes, he got hungry. On his break, he searched for food, but all he could find was a water-stained cooler. He realized that if a vending machine had been available in Harbor Hall, then he and his classmates wouldn’t have been so distracted by hunger for the rest of class.
However, this process of acquiring new vending machines for the English and graphic design building was not quick or easy. In fact, the whole process took several emails over six months.
Bernard began by emailing Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock in October 2018. Charlene Ponce, the special assistant to the regional chancellor, replied to his email and referred Bernard to the department of Finance and Administration.
Bruce Coble, the associate director of financial services, replied to Bernard’s email by listing potential locations that the vending machines could be placed. He said that he would forward the request to the vending company and see if they could think of the best place to install the machine.
When Coble first stepped into this position, there were only seven machines on campus.
Now there are 15 snack or combo machines on campus as well as 11 Coca Cola machines. They are located in Residence Hall One on three floors, Bayboro Hall, Davis Hall, Coquina Hall, The Edge, the Poynter Library, the Marine Science building, the University Student Center on four floors, and the Student Life Center.
Coble mentioned that there used to be a Coca Cola machine in the back kitchen area of Harbor Hall, but it was removed because it was not being used.
The school only pays for the electricity to run the machines, not maintaining or stocking them. The companies USF St. Petersburg contracts with, Coca Cola and Gilly Vending, are the ones in charge of that. However, the school does get a monthly commission from the sales of each machine.
“I have not been in this position long enough to know why there was no vending machine, (but) maybe because nobody asked for one until now,” Coble said.
Once he received the request from Bernard, he contacted the school’s vendors and asked them to install both a snack and a Coca Cola machine in Harbor Hall.
Finally, after months of waiting and anticipation, the big reception desk in the lobby was moved.
One Coca Cola machine appeared in the front of the lobby. Students were excited about having options such as Dasani water, Coca Cola, Sprite, Orange Fanta, Monster Energy drinks, and Vitamin Water.
Students were happy that progress was being made, but Bernard still wasn’t satisfied. He was determined to get the snack machine as well.
A few more weeks passed, and on April 1st, a USF snack machine suddenly appeared in the front of Harbor Hall. Some of the snacks in the vending machine include Snickers, Reeses, fruit snacks, Lays, Cliff bars, crackers, Ruffles, and Doritos (which are Bernard’s favorite snack).
The snack machine had only been there for a little over a week, but there were already eight empty rows.
Students were extremely excited about the new food options that were now available in their own building. No longer would they have to walk outside in the dark, pouring rain, or humid heat just to get food or drinks.
“It is a great feeling to have the vending machines in the building. I am happy that fellow students can be refreshed daily. It is strategically located, and I am pleased that the appropriate offices responded accordingly,” Bernard said.
Other students are just as excited as Bernard.
“It’s kind of sad that we’re so excited over a snack machine, but we deserve a lot more than what little we have,” said Maggie Lyons, a senior English major. “The vending machines are a step in the right direction.”
Ask asked why he decided to take up the task of getting the vending machines for students, Bernard said, “I believe in the fact that one man can start a revival for the benefits of the people. I want to borrow the words of the song, ‘It Only Takes a Spark to Get the Fire Going.’
“One thing leads to another. Rome was not built in a day. We need to stop waiting on the group and sometimes work alone.”
