The beginning of the school year has come once again and before the schoolwork piles up into insurmountable stacks, students are again looking for places to hang out. For many residents of the Hill, a place to unwind and hang out with friends outside of the dorm is a necessity. However, the closest thing that St. Olaf has to such a place remains closed. What's happening with the Lion's Pause?

With the kitchen and stage area still closed, and because the lounge and games rooms did not open until the middle of last week, students are beginning to complain about the lack of activity on campus. Others are concerned with the impression left on first-years and prospective students. "I feel really sorry for the first-years," said one J.C. "They got here and they almost always have to leave campus to find something to do."

Pause Coordinator Sumner Musolf doesn't understand the uproar this year. "Just because we're located in a new building doesn't mean we open any earlier. Usually the Pause opens at Halloween, and last year we didn't open until the beginning of October," he pointed out, adding, "If nothing else, we're ahead of schedule."

The Pause normally takes this period of time before opening at the beginning of each year in order to hire and train new employees to replace those who have graduated or left. "There's always going to be that two week interval before we open to get things ready," Musolf explained. Because the Pause is entirely operated by students, its workers return only with the rest of campus. Also, this year there are less returning workers than normal, causing more time to be spent on hiring and training new employees. Towards the end of last week, kitchen manager Jenny Wisnowski was interviewing about ten or more applicants per day.

Moreover, the executive team of the Lion's Pause is almost completely new. "We had some issues with our exec team that we had to work out, but we have worked endlessly and tirelessly to open," said Musolf.

The good news is that the Pause will still open much earlier than its regular October date. New workers have now been hired and training is in progress. "We're aiming to open everything by this weekend," Musolf said. So Oles, be a bit more patient, as the Lion's Pause will open hopefully around Sunday night!