Returning students kicked off the new semester with one of Centennial College’s more idiosyncratic traditions: Pancake Day.
Students and staff alike gathered Jan. 31 in a crowded cafeteria at the college’s East York campus for the complimentary feast.
Staff and faculty members spent the lunch hour stirring batter and flipping pancakes for a cafeteria full of hungry students. (Trisha Sales)
About 1,700 pancakes were served in total, with no leftovers. Students also went through 16 bottles of maple syrup. Thirty faculty and staff members were responsible for preparing and serving the pancakes.
“My friends and I planned to go out to eat, but we saw free pancakes so we decided to eat here instead,” said Shelley Lu, an international student in the New Media program. She and her friends stayed warm in the crowded cafeteria and went back for seconds.
Pancake Day has been going on for seven or eight years, said Scott Hosmer, a marketing communications officer at Centennial.
Some, it seems, wouldn’t mind seeing it come around more often.
“A lot of us students sleep late and have no time to eat breakfast,” said Vassia Prespari, who’s in the public relations program. “Going to school and having free pancakes is a great idea.”