CADEN HAYNOR / NEWS EDITOR

Sundaes on  Sundays, typically hosted   every   week   by    USD   Dining  in   the   Student   Life Pavillion (SLP), halted at the beginning  of   this  school  year.   This event  featured a  build-your-own ice cream  sundae  bar  every Sunday evening during dinner hours.

Sundaes didn’t come back this year until Sunday, Oct. 12. Each week, students would flock to this event, looking forward to a scoop of ice cream to gear up for Monday. The ice cream was paired with a topping bar that had sprinkles, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips and other sundae staples.

Students were disappointed this year when they entered the SLP expecting ice cream,  and came face-to-face with pies lining the walls. One of those students was USD sophomore  Sophia  Kartel  who  spoke about what these events meant to her.

“These   Sunday  events  were more significant than just the ice cream  being  served,  they  were  about the community  I  could  build,” Kartel said. “The  SLP became like that third place, aside from home and school.  Especially  now that home and school are  mixed, it’s so  important to have that other space to make friends. With the Sunday Sundaes  gone,  though, that is harder.”

USD Director of Dining Services Charles Ramos explained the reasoning behind replacing the ice cream in SLP.

“The intent behind our Sunday dessert  offering was to feature [‘Pie à la Mode’] — pie served with ice cream,” Ramos explained. “In terms of cost, the pricing is fairly comparable when you consider the difference between standard pies and a variety of ice cream flavors with a toppings bar.”

This special event was made as a   way  to  give  ice  cream  to  students who  otherwise   would  have  to  go  far  off  campus  to  find  it and  pay  for it  out  of  pocket. USD  sophomore Bianca Avila spoke on how  this  event reminds  her  of home.

“My  family  would  do ice cream every  Sunday  too   as   a   family   dinner,” Avila said. “So Sunday Sundaes felt like home. It brings me that family feeling, but with my friends.”

USD  sophomore Giulia Coloso  is   an  international student from Italy and she explained what these nights meant to her.

“That  was the only reason I went  on  Sundays,” Coloso  said. “Ice  cream  isn’t  easy to get either, so it felt like I was getting off campus. A lot of these types of events are geared towards freshmen at the SLP and I really don’t go  there  anymore  even   though   it   would  be a great  place  to  build  friendships.”

Ramos went on to describe how USD Dining plans to implement ice cream  going forward in the school year.

“So   this  is a  temporary change   and   ‘Sundaes on Sundays’ will be returning soon, this time paired with pie for a true [‘à la mode twist,’]” Ramos stated.

On Oct. 12, ice  cream returned at last to the SLP, with two large  tubs of vanilla ice cream sitting next to pie and toppings.

First-year Paige Wheeler explained how she felt about the ice cream on Sunday.

“It honestly looked a little unappetizing since it was so watery and I didn’t really know it was ice cream,” Wheeler stated. “Then I was like ‘oh, that’s ice cream with the pies, that looks good,’ but I got the vanilla soft serve I usually have. I didn’t even know [Sunday Sundaes were] a thing.” 

USD sophomore Kyra Lefebvre reacted to the return of this ice cream dessert.

“They’re coming back, no way,” Lefebvre said. “They are a great coping mechanism to get over the Sunday scaries, so I’m glad they’re back.”

Haruto Umino, an international student from Japan, described his knowledge of these Sunday treats.

“I never knew about the ice cream before or [that]  it is here now,” Umino stated.

First-year Audrey Herriges reacted to the reimplemented ice cream on Sunday.

“I didn’t even know that was a thing, but now that I do know it was a thing, maybe I do want ice cream to be there,” Herriges said. “I would so love if they had mint chip. The pie was so good that they had there before too.”

This highly anticipated dessert special  will  continue  to  attract students looking for an end-of-the-week treat.

Ice cream tubs with vanilla ice cream were available to students Sunday night. Photo courtesy of @eatatusd/Instagram