Meredith Shamburger

When I was in school (that is to say, CISD), Wednesdays were always the best day of the week. Why? Because Wednesday was Chicken Day.

Basically, every Wednesday the cafeteria would serve fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll. It was Southern comfort food, and the cafeteria staff knew what they were doing.

Eventually state laws turned the fried chicken into baked chicken. This could have ruined Wednesdays, but the magical power of the chicken kept it going. Except for one particular Wednesday of my junior year in high school when the staff decided to serve “Happy Chicken” (chicken patties cut out with a smiley face and decorated with little colored balls of flour baked into the crust). I’m not making this up. Unfortunately, I can’t show you any photographic proof. “Happy Chicken” was usually served to the kindergartners and elementary school kids. Why they decided to serve it to a bunch of teenagers? I have no idea.

But as I was saying… Chicken Day was a staple of CISD. Naturally, I did not expect it to continue when I came to SMU.

It’s wonderful to be proven wrong. Because, you see, a certain cafeteria/grill on campus (Mac’s Place) serves chicken strips on Wednesday. Tasty, delicious chicken strips.

I tried to compose a poem entitled “An Ode to Chicken Day,” but alas, all I can say is, “Long live Chicken Day!”