Concordia’s culture and the “Janzow Squeeze”

Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh

By Nora Betts

Managing Editor

This article is featured in the May print edition of the Sower newspaper. 

Nora Betts tracked the movement of two tables of chairs in the dining hall to see how far they would naturally travel due to the Janzow Squeeze. Maps of the dining hall show the start of the experiment on April 7 (top) and the results on April 23 (bottom). Only one chair stayed at its original table. 

Design: Nora Betts

Concordia students, faculty and staff find fellowship and friendship in the dining hall, whether chatting amid a busy schedule or pulling up another chair for the “Janzow Squeeze.”

The term “Janzow Squeeze” refers to cramming extra chairs around a dining hall table in the Janzow Campus Center. Students consider it an important part of Concordia’s culture that highlights a unique opportunity for connection on campus.

Freshman Mitchell Stephens said that meals in Janzow allow students to make friends and take a break from schoolwork.

“I’ve met multiple people through dinners and lunches and stuff, and it’s a good time to talk and hang out when you’re not doing classes,” Stephens said.

Senior Emily Loseke said that the dining hall is the perfect place for enjoying fellowship with friends and connecting with new people. She said the Janzow Squeeze transcends the bounds of the dining hall.

Design: Nora Betts

“We’ll go somewhere and, without even thinking, people will use that terminology. Like, ‘Oh, let’s just Janzow Squeeze it,’” Loseke said. “I love how that sticks with people even outside of the setting. That makes my heart happy.”

When she was a freshman, Loseke frequently went “table-hopping” in Janzow, sitting and talking with different people for hours on end.

“It was such a cool opportunity, especially that freshman year, because I got to build such solid relationships,” she said. “It was just different because I could pretend like there wasn’t a rush. I could just sit in there and talk to people.”

Loseke said that meals in Janzow allow people to momentarily slow down and socialize.

“Everybody’s got to eat, so everyone has the opportunity to be intentional about that time,” Loseke said.

Whether it be a quick conversation in the stir fry line or a shared meal, Janzow creates opportunities for connection, Loseke said. She loves choosing a seat randomly and seeing what interactions God provides.

“It’s crazy how God can work through those little situations,” she said. “The people you get to meet, the stories you get to hear, the encouragement you get from others, the way you get to encourage others. It’s just very humbling how simply gathering around food can make such a difference.”

Loseke worked in the Dog House and catered for Chartwells her freshman year. She said she made great connections with the workers in Janzow and still has meals with some of them every week.

“It’s been four years, and I can say that Janzow is one of my favorite places to be, just because of the relationships I have there,” she said.

Jaci Thorburn has worked in the dining hall for eight years and often can be found manning the register at the Janzow front desk. She said she has formed relationships with her fellow workers and with the students she sees every day.

Thorburn said interacting with students is one highlight of her job, and that the college kids “keep me young.” She loves seeing how students grow over their college careers.

“The students– I enjoy seeing them when they come in as freshmen and watching them as they grow before they graduate,” she said.

Thorburn frequently sees the Janzow Squeeze in action, and she is usually the one who puts the chairs back in place between meals.

Assistant professor of Theology Dr. David Coe takes nourishment in Janzow a step further, feeding students’ minds with the option of office hours over a shared meal.

“I oftentimes offer office hours that really put students out, to have to come up [to my office] and find a time that fits with me, whereas food is something usually both of us have to do anyway,” he said.

Coe said that students sometimes find it easier to discuss class content with him over a Janzow meal rather than hurriedly stopping by his office. He noted fellowship together, whether over a meal or otherwise, is an expression of the love language of quality time. He appreciates the physical and social nourishment that Janzow provides.

“The best place for fellowship is usually when you’re doing something else at the same time, but the food aspect of it doubles down on the nourishing part,” he said.

Coe likes to tell his students that he wants a Janzow meal plan once his mortgage is paid off. He said his mom gifted him some prepaid meal swipes for Christmas, and he appreciates every opportunity to spend time in the dining hall.

“Once you have to make your own food for yourself, you’ll always look back on a place like Janzow with fondness,” said Coe.