by Brendan Hellweg
Since 2002, when the Friendly’s that was located in the Reed Center was replaced with a school-owned facility, the Stu-Bop, alums and current students alike have clamored for Friendly’s to open a new location so that students can get their sundae fix between classes. After 11 years of this pressure, the school has brokered a deal with Friendly’s Ice Cream, LLC to construct a restaurant on campus. Due to the success of the Stu-Bop, a new location has been proposed that would not compete so directly with the store: the Robert Parker Clapp Memorial Library.
After a two-month summer renovation, tables, a kitchen, and the cashier’s ruby-red booth will take up the majority of the library’s second floor. In an interview with a Friendly’s spokesperson, she said that Williston’s “track record as an exceptional private educational institution won’t be damaged by removing roughly one third of the books. During a quick tour of the current library, I saw literally 12 books on JFK’s presidency. If they cut that down to one book, we’d have room for a rainbow sprinkles dispenser!”