CREDIT: ISTOCK (KARDAN_ADAM)
Advice: In the world of students and Professors, determining the "best" cup of coffee is a matter of personal taste.

Ask A Prof is a monthly column which answers student questions on any topic. The Prof answering is Jim Benedek, a Professor in the School of IT’s office administration programs. Ask your question by completing the form at theinterrobang.ca/ask-prof.

Hey Prof,

Where can I find the best cup of coffee on campus?


Campus Coffee Connoisseur

Dear C Cubed,

The word “best” always gives me a bit of gas because it’s so subjective. The criteria you use to determine the best-ness of something almost certainly differs from the criteria my Aunt Eloise uses. You may only drink coffee grown in the Blue Mountains in Jamaica whereas Ellie only drinks coffee when it’s accompanied by a couple of Timbits.

My own coffee experience is greatly diminished when the cup seam lines up with the lid opening, causing seam-on-lip-itis. It’s a major pet peeve of mine and I’ve written letters, oh yes, I have.

We can probably agree that the following things reduce our coffee consumption contentment to some degree: under-filling or over-filling the cup; double-cup versus sleeve; coffee dripping down the side of the cup or pooling on the yet unopened lid; and having to repeat your order three times at the drive-thru. Ugh, I’m feeling frustrated just thinking about it. Probably as frustrated as Justin Bieber when he tweeted about Timmie’s new lids.

Instead of awarding the Best Coffee on Campus badge to any single cup, I thought it would be more helpful to compare what your coffee cashola gets you at the various outlets. I teach at the Oxford campus, so my experience is limited in scope. My apologies to the other campuses — except downtown London since they have more options for jitter juice than any other campus! All amounts include tax but not the discount you’ll get for bringing your re-usable cup or mug.

• Carvery & Bakery — in A1001, serves Van Houtte and $1.85 buys you 16 ounces.

• Circle K — at the corner of Oxford and First. A medium (16 oz.) costs $1.05. Their proximity to campus won them a place on this list, and if cost is your only criteria, Circle K is your winner!

• Falcon’s Nest — SUB, across from Fringe Co. hair salon. A 16 oz cup of Fair-Trade coffee costs $1.88.

• Grinders — in the Oasis. Their Marley Coffee isn’t available in a medium, but the small is $1.88 for 12 oz. and the large is $2.09 for 20 oz.

• Starbucks — Located in H cafeteria, a medium coffee (a.k.a “grande”) will set you back $2.78 for 16 oz.

• Timmie’s — There are 4 Tim Hortons on campus — Food Court Junction, Food Court in B building, a self-serve location near the D Café, and a location with extras in Z, down the block. For $1.85, you’ll get 14 oz.

You can decide which coffee you like best and with so many options, there’s really no reason to feel under-caffeinated.

Hey Prof,

I just got an email about the Student Feedback Survey. Do Profs really care about students’ opinions?

A Member of the Silent Majority

Dear MSM,

The Student Feedback Survey takes place once every semester and it provides a wonderful opportunity for students to communicate how they feel about their Professors’ approach to delivering their courses. The first part of the survey invites students to evaluate their experience by rating a statement like: starts classes on time; from “Never” to “Always.” The second part provides space for comments.

Providing feedback is a learned skill and it differs considerably from expressing an opinion. An opinion reflects the speaker’s preferences whereas feedback focuses on the audience with a view towards improvement. An opinion may sound like “Jim is a big dumbdumb head and I hate his class.”

Feedback may sound like “Jim, I would enjoy your classes more if you spoke a bit more slowly and included more activities.” Providing feedback is a greatly admired skill in the workplace and is a necessity for anyone who would like to manage or mentor others.

I’d like to think that every Prof reviews the feedback provided to them carefully. I appreciate all my students’ feedback and I incorporate it when planning and delivering my future classes. The positive comments remind me of the things that students find helpful and appreciate, and the constructive comments prompt me to improve my course by adding new components.

Fanshawe takes a number of steps to ensure that your feedback remains anonymous. If a certain minimum of students hasn’t responded to the survey, the results are not provided to the Prof. When the results are provided to the Prof, they are summarized so that no one student’s survey results are divulged.

The comments are presented in a list so if you don’t refer to a specific situation which would blow your cover, your Prof will not know who wrote the comment. Finally, your Prof won’t get their results until early next semester, long after your final grade has been published.

So yes, please complete your surveys and provide some constructive feedback to improve your learning experience and that of future Fanshawe students. If you don’t feel that the good karma which will accrue to you is adequate compensation, consider that you also have a chance to win $1,000 in FanBucks if you complete all of your surveys. This semester’s draw is set for April 22, 2020. Now wouldn’t that have an impact on your level of satisfaction?!?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.