By: Liam Murphy, Features Contributor
On Monday, Sept. 25, the Commuter Student Association (CSA) hosted their fifth annual Pizza Taste Off. Pizza and wings were ordered from five different local spots: Franco’s, Just Pizza, Imperial, La Nova and Mr. Pizza. The event was supposed to run from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Regis Room. However, seemingly all the students on campus couldn’t resist the allure of free pizza and wings, and in just under 30 minutes, all the food was gone. The CSA ordered 12 party pizzas and 500 wings. For perspective, that's over 16 wings eaten per minute.
After the event concluded, I spoke to CSA President Stephen LaPaige about the goal of this event and future CSA hosted events. While the pizza was the draw to get people into the room, Stephen spoke about how he wishes to “bridge the gap between commuters and residents.” Stephen wants commuters to “engage more with the community.” He stated, “I want commuter students to build friendships through events. I want them to sit down at different tables and create bonds throughout their college career.”
Commuters make up the majority of students here at Canisius, but — through no fault of their own — they engage less with the community than residents do. The CSA wants to address that gap and make sure that even if a student is a commuter, they can still be an active part of the Canisius community.
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the results came in:
The best pizza was the Buffalo wing pizza from Franco’s.
The best wing was a tie between the mango habanero from Mr. Pizza and the sweet hot chili from Franco's.
The best pizza place was Franco's.
Along with the Pizza Taste-Off, CSA holds general body meetings twice a month and regularly holds breakfast and brunch on-the-go for students in their club room, WC 007. The biggest event CSA has planned is the annual Blizzard Bash, which will be held during the winter, with more details coming soon.