With less than a month to go in the semester, we at Bwog are among the many converging on Butler. If you've forgotten to sneak food and drink in, though (a course we recommend do not endorse), your only source of caffeinated comfort is Blue Java. Strangely, though, the Butler Blue Java prices are even higher than its other locations around campus. Bwog contributor (and longtime coffee muckraker) Jon Hill investigated, only to have Housing and Dining say "We understand your concerns. Please note the prices are a bit higher in Butler due to higher expenses."

Oh really? How specific! But just what are these higher expenses, pray tell?

Our perseverance got us forwarded onto Michael Novielli, chief of administration of Student Auxiliary and Business Services. Already having been briefed on the company line, Novielli was ready to give us all the details. "The main and only reason is that our cost of doing business at Butler Library is higher. It's an agreement Dining Services has with the University Libraries and I can't comment any more than that, but our costs of doing business at Butler are about 10 percent higher." Novielli refused to comment on any specifics behind the increase, although we're pretty sure the real reason starts with "m" and ends with "-onopoly."

In the coming hours you will receive an email asking for your participation in an annual survey that Dining Services is conducting on all on-campus dining institutions. Do you like them? Are they too expensive? Those are the kinds of answers they are looking for!

To further motivate you, they're offering to donate a total of $.50 per survey handed in to Broadway Presbyterian Church's soup kitchen. So for every three surveys turned in, they will donate one cup of Blue Java coffee. If that sounds nice, you should join the Dining Services Facebook Group so that you can always be the first to know about frozen yogurt changes in John Jay.

It's a phenomenon almost as annoying as having to re-enter your SSOL password when you leave it alone for more than 3 minutes: rising prices at campus eateries.

So far, Bwog tipsters and staff have seen price hikes at many campus eateries. Offenders include Ferris Booth, which, in addition to replacing the popular stir fry station with a taco bar, has raised prices at several of their other stations.

At $7, Ferris and 212 sushi, for example, will now set you back more than many supermarkets in the area (M2M sells it for about $4). Cafe 212 has also raised its prices on sandwiches, and they've also stopped selling sunflower seeds, which Bwog considers a travesty.

Finally, Butler's Blue Java has, as our tipster put it, "coffee now priced at Starbucks levels, pastries even higher." If you've heard of other places, on-campus or off-campus, raising (or lowering!) their prices, let us know at bwgossip@columbia.edu or in the comments.

Thanks to an email from a Bwog tipster, it seems that recent shenanigans at John Jay's Blue Java Express are coming to an ignominious end. It appears that the wool has been pulled over one too many Columbian's eyes, as this tipster put an end to recent Blue Java trickery...

Bwog Editors,

I thought those caffeine-charged, cost-conscious Columbians like myself might want to know: Housing and Dining has been overcharging students for several weeks now on coffee purchased at the John Jay Blue Java Express.

I recently noticed that their large-size cups were actually medium-size, but I still was being debited the large-size price. Despite adamant denials from Blue Java employees that my smaller cups were anything other than full-sized, 20-ounce tankards of coffee, I took my case to H&D administrators.

Yesterday I finally received notice that my suspicions were correct: I have been paying more for less. Fortunately, H&D has pledged to fix the problem, and I did indeed see 20-oz. cups for sale -- as advertised -- at the John Jay Blue Java Express this morning.

- Jon Hill
CC '11

See the tipster's swashbuckling and heroic save of large coffee cups after the jump!

Transformation to what, exactly? Only time will tell. But it's most assuredly something brown, something square, and something inexplicably partial to Century Gothic.

Because of all the deaths and illnesses attributable to our library's rat-infested coffee shop, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (Division of Environmental Health) has seen fit to the uphold the public good and shut down the Butler denizen's only source of sustenance, Blue Java.

Of course Blue Java hasn't killed anybody and isn't infested by rats. Or is it? This notice from the NYCDoHaMH (DoEH), apparently posted at around 11 AM this morning, leaves much to the imagination. But given the recent spate of arbitrary restaurant closings, it's likely that Blue's violations were pretty mild.

To confirm this, Bwog called the Health Department's media desk, where we were brusquely informed that inquiries "take a long while" to process, and we were referred to an e-mail address where we could make a formal request for information (smarkt@health.nyc.gov, for the interested). Since we're not down with bureaucratic red tape, Bwog dialed the media desk again. Much to our relief we were answered by a different receptionist, who said she would try to get to the bottom of the Blue Java mystery by the end of business hours today.

She also told us about the Health Department's nifty search engine feature. It seems that Blue Java has an impeccable inspection record, although Bwog is outraged that a dry establishment would so flagrantly endanger public health by not adequately warning customers about the dangers of "Alcohol and Pregnancy."

UPDATE, 10:21 AM EST, 6/20: There is now a sign right beneath the Health Department notice stating that the Department has required Blue Java to have a two-welled sink, and that the coffee shop will be closed until it complies. Could this be an all-too-transparent cover-up by library management? Doubtful, but for the suspicious: Bwog has been informed that Health Department violations usually hit the public domain after about a week, so if you're still interested check back next Wednesday.

-ARR

Blue Java in Butler just increased its cup size without increasing its prices.

That's what she said.

-Thanks to Ellen Kessel for the tip

We witnessed the following exchange in Blue Java about a week ago:

Frantic guy at counter: What tea has caffeine in it? I just need something with caffeine.

Blue Java employee: Yes, these teas...? (Motions to selection)

Guy: Yes, that tea, I'll have that one.

Girl in line: They should really just set up a caffeine IV drip on campus.

Blue Java never ceases to amaze (and apparently misspell). Ingredients for a certain "Halloween Rice Chrispy Bar" included sprinkles, butter, Halloween, and a clever avoidance of copyright infringement...

Thanks to Todd Spitz and Alex Weinberg for the tip!