Order Up: Seton Trades The Gavel For a Spatula

At the Kirkland House grill last Thursday night, at least one customer said, with a trace of a smile, that she has noticed a marked decrease in the quality of grill service since former Undergraduate Council President Noah Z. Seton '00 came on board.

"The operation is going to pot. Politicians shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs. It's all about big government," says Lisa J. Wilde '01.

Seton has gone from devoting most of his time to the Undergraduate Council presidency to devoting most of his extracurricular energy to making pizza bagels, moonlighting from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday nights at the Kirkland grill.

"I'm just a humble employee now," says the campus politico who masterminded the drive to bring fly-by lunches to campus.

"It's not that difficult. If you can butter a bagel, you can work here," Seton says.

Outside of the grill, Seton, a government concentrator, is spending most of his time polishing his thesis. He was recently admitted to Harvard Law School, and says he is ambivalent about running for public office after he graduates.

But for the time being, he's enjoying his foray into the food service industry, where he earns $25 for a three-hour shift.

"It's much more fun," he says, comparing his work behind the counter to his work on the council. "I feel like I'm providing a service."

The former president also says he enjoys the food at the grill, where employees get a 50 percent discount, but steers prospective customers away from some items on the menu.

"Last year, my roommate and I ordered a chicken ramen noodle every night," he says. "The ramen makes you radioactive after a while."

Now, he says, he has a predilection for buttered and toasted pumpernickel bagels.

Ellen H. Schneider '01, who works at the grill on Monday nights, says grill employees affectionately refer to pumpernickel bagels as "The Noah." Only Seton ever orders them, she says.

Like any great chef, Seton has his specialities.

"I bag a mean bag of popcorn, and make a pretty good pizza bagel," he says.

Jesse C. Billett '01, a late-night customer on Thursday, agrees, noting that the cheese on his pizza bagel was "nicely ground."

Although Billett noted that Seton asked him what he wanted before he even got up to the grill's counter, Schneider said Seton was often lax about his duties. She called him "the worst recycler ever."

"He's not a very hard worker, but he's funny, so people put up with him," Schneider quips. "He's a hoot."

Noting his penchant for taking breaks, Schneider said she thought Seton wasn't cut out for grill work.

"He's not a grill worker at heart," she said. "I think he misses the attention that he got being president of the [council]."

It's a sentiment Seton is inclined to agree with.

"I'm nothing now. I'm working in the frickin' Kirkland grill," he exclaims, cleaning the remaining kernels out of the popcorn machine. "Whatever importance I had as a political player on campus has clearly gone the way of the pizza bagel."