CAMPUS BRIEFS: Friday, March 20, 1998

Chestnut St. Wawa robbed of $100 The robber -- who employees described as a 5'9", 230-pound black male wearing a dark baseball cap, a blue hooded jacket, blue jeans and tan Timberland boots -- entered the store at 3:21 a.m., saying he had a gun and demanding that an employee open the cash register, University Police Det. Gary Heller said. After stealing all the cash in the register, the robber fled and jumped into a black Volkswagen Jetta parked on 36th Street and driven by another man, employees said. The two were last seen headed north on 36th Street, police said. Investigators at the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau, who obtained a Wawa surveillance video of the incident, are currently investigating the robbery. -- Maureen Tkacik Student wins new car in magazine contest Sure, almost everyone has entered their name into those huge prize draws, but no one really expects to win. College senior Elizabeth Beidler, however, actually did. Beidler, who won a Details magazine contest held in Superblock last fall as part of the publication's "Hooked Up" College Tour, collected her prize at Springfield Auto Outlet in Springfield, Pa., Wednesday. The prize -- a 1998 black Hyundai Tiburon coup -- is worth about $15,800. She noted that the odds were stacked against her -- the contest had been held at 10 different universities and the winner was picked from more than 4,500 student entrants. "It's definitely nice to have a good thing happen," she said, noting the change from a more sobering first half of the semester. Beidler, a Design of the Environment major, was in the Blauhaus with College senior John La Bombard when he was shot and wounded earlier this month in the shootings outside the Palestra that also left one man dead and two more wounded. -- Liz Goldhirsh Eat at Joe's owner to open Salad Creations Andy Cosenza, the man bringing a 24-hour diner to campus, is giving students another culinary option. Cosenza's Cozco Management Corp. will begin construction soon on Salad Creations in the 3401 Walnut Street complex food court. He expects to open the store sometime in May in the former Everything Yogurt space. Salad Creations will be the fourth store in the food court operated by Cosenza, joining an Eat at Joe's Express, the Philly Steak and Gyro Co. and La Pastabilities. Cosenza is also president and chief operating officer of a separate company opening Eat at Joe's on the 3900 block of Walnut Street in late April. The 1950s-style diner was originally scheduled to open last New Year's Eve. Construction on the restaurant will begin before the end of March. "We are concentrating 100 percent of our efforts and our resources to have it done before final exams and graduation," Cosenza said. -- Binyamin Appelbaum