(September 19, 2012) — Freshman Preny Alaverdian said she liked the food at the recent Freshman Pancake Breakfast, and really appreciated the initiative of Clark and ASB towards the freshmen. “It was a great way to like get to know each other and get more comfortable with the school,” Alaverdian said.

“I like the welcoming of it. I like the togetherness, like just the freshmen like spending time together.” The Freshman Pancake Breakfast began as the freshmen gathered in the amphitheater on Aug. 31. They were then dismissed to get pancakes by the color of their shirt.

Despite this, the line for the pancakes stretched from the amphitheater into the auditeria. Freshman David Ghukasyan said that waiting in line was the only part he disliked. “I wasn’t expecting a big line,” he said. Associated Student Body advisor Elaine Snodgress said that the efficiency with which staff and students serve the freshmen has improved over the years.

“We’ve gotten better at serving faster over the years,” she said. “Really, the best thing is that we were able to get over 300 people served in about 45 minutes,” Snodgress said. “Mr. Tiffany and Mr. Axelgard along with the custodial staff are really important for helping us and the ASB members.” The staff of the Freshman Pancake Breakfast served the hungry freshmen with pancakes, orange juice, sausages and maple syrup. College/Career Prep and Health teacher Randy Tiffany cooked the pancakes for the freshmen.

“Mr. Tiffany made about 700 pancakes,” Snodgress said. The staff served over 500 sausages and 350 cartons of juice to the freshmen. In the end, they used about two large bottles of maple syrup, and about 300 little tubs, or servings, of butter. Two pancakes were served to every student, along with two sausages, one carton of orange juice and some maple syrup. Freshman Johan Landaverde said, “I was expecting a lot of people and not a lot of pancakes, but it was the opposite.” After all the freshmen were served, they were allowed to come back for seconds. “We were also able to give seconds, which was unusual,” Snodgress said.

After the Freshman Pancake Breakfast, the staff still had extra food left over. “The faculty was invited for some pancakes,” Snodgress said. Alaverdian said that the pancakes were her favorite part. Still, Ghukasyan had some objections. “They put too much maple syrup,” Ghukasyan said. “It was a little burned, but still edible.” Freshman Garett Waltzer said he knew some people who didn’t like the food. “But no big deal,” he said. “We had a lot of fun.”

Snodgress said that Clark started hosting the Freshmen Pancake Breakfast in 2001, after 9/11. “We kind of wanted something to bring everybody together, and so we basically did it because of that,” she said. “We realized that the freshmen were coming from different schools. We just wanted a way [to] kind of differentiate ourselves.” Many of the freshmen were more than appreciative towards ASB and the staff that made the event possible.

“I was really appreciative, you know, cause I’m sure at CV where I would’ve gone, [they] would never do anything like that for the freshmen,” Waltzer said. The event was memorable for the freshmen and the staff. “What I like most about the pancake breakfast is that it gives the freshmen a view into how Clark tries to do something a little bit different from the other schools,” Snodgress said.

“It’s only for them because oftentimes freshmen kinda get lost in the shuffle, but it’s really an event that’s specifically designed for them.” In the end, the bell rang and the upperclassmen came to join the freshmen for snack. “I wasn’t expecting anything more or less, this was good, it was like, cool,” Alaverdian said. “Honestly, I can’t say anybody didn’t like it, cause we’re all just like having a good time and like enjoying it so.”