Student Ventures North of the Popeyes
It was a frigid fall morning when George Stevenson, ES ’21, decided he’d had enough. Though a frequenter of Zeta and an avid fan of Popeyes, Stevenson wanted something more. He was sick of paying G-Heav prices for second-rate ingredients and had heard tales of the existence of a mythical grocery store, Stop & Shop. The prophets spoke of it as if it were a Whole Foods — except you can’t make your own peanut butter there, of course. The journey to such a place mandated venturing two blocks north of where any Eli would typically step their Birkenstock-ed foot.
“There’s a U-Haul in New Haven! And it’s, like — right there!” Stevenson panted immediately following his excursion. I met him in the Trumbull Room, overflowing with fog and haze. “And the Papa John’s… I saw it with my own two eyes. This place is more than just a campus. It’s a town full of honest, hard-working people.” He leaned back in his chair and took another drag of his half-smoked cigarette. I could see his hands — like that of a stonemason. Rough and strong, as my father’s were. He glanced at the spittoon he’d brought with him and remarked, “I used to think New Haven was a ‘dangerous place.’ It’s all propaganda. This community is vibrant.” The dusty light shined off a scar running down his cheek. His face was weathered with experience, yet clearly evidenced a past naiveté. “What was it all for?” he asked himself. “In a way, I wanted milk so I could eat cereal in my room. In a different way, I wanted to explore the greater New Haven community, outside of our own Bubble. Many students spend their four years of Yale never really experiencing New Haven, and I am so glad I have now made a concerted effort to counteract that.”
Stevenson declined to comment on whether he would ever go south of the Student Receiving Center.
