First year student Jason Feldman was blindsided by the difficulty of the Cinema Studies program, forcibly pausing his studies and his dreams of becoming a cinephile. Since he was not deemed to be in “Good Academic Standing'', Feldman was officially on academic probation. His sentence: eight hours as a barista at the Robarts Starbucks.
With a demographic of exclusively UofT students, this Starbucks location is notorious for its ridiculously long lines and lack of tips. However, Feldman seemed confident that he would enjoy his time blending frappuccinos and misspelling names. Feldman told The Boundary that he was unaware that community service was even required for those on probation, but that he much prefers this to one hundred hours picking up trash around campus; “I know it gets busy, but how bad could it really be?”
After clocking out, an emaciated Feldman was spotted wiping his tears with a paper straw and nibbling on a chocolate covered madeleine. The Boundary tried to speak with him post-shift, but he declined to comment.
We spoke with an anonymous employee of the coffee shop, and she referred to Feldman’s sentence as “cruel and unusual punishment.” She also noted that they did end up paying Feldman for his work, against the recommendation of the school; “He needed to be compensated after what he went through.”
A few days after his shift, Jason was finally ready to discuss his experience; “I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again.” When asked if his community service inspired him to work harder and get his grades up, Feldman slowly nodded.
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