Coffee, Java, cup o’ joe, espresso, whatever it is called it is what keeps students up until 3 a.m. cramming for a midterm. It is also what wakes them up that morning for their 8 a.m. class.

“You drink it to wake up and that’s it,” said Marc Sullivan, the man responsible for ensuring that students get their campus caffeine fix. Sullivan is the manager of City College’s food services.

This fall, sleepy- eyed students have been able to enjoy a cup of Peet’s coffee and other offerings at the coffee stand in front of the East Campus Snack Shop.

Students new to City College or who had not spent a lot of time in the East Campus Cafeteria might not have noticed its arrival last spring.

“When you’re inside it’s just the people who know it’s inside,” said Robert Robins, a Computer Science major and supervisor of the coffee stand. He has seen an increase in the number of students that frequent the coffee stand since its move from the back of the Cafeteria, a difficult find for students who may have preferred to avoid the crowds in the building.

“Coffee sales have been pretty steady,” Sullivan said. “I’ve noticed a slight increase since they moved outside.”

The coffee stand, which features Peet’s Major Dickenson’s coffee in regular or decaf and espresso, offers students an alternative to the coffee served in either of the cafeterias on campus, which offer coffee from locally-owned Jordano’s that includes French Roast or Vanilla flavored.

Jordano’s Foodservice delivers many different kinds of foods and beverages to Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties.

“As far as what people like, the feedback I get is Peet’s Major Dickenson’s,” Sullivan said, adding that the coffee stand goes through 20 to 25 pounds of coffee a week with up to $300 generated in sales.

With Jordano’s contract to serve coffee at City College ending this calendar year, Sullivan is looking to make changes to the campus’s coffee culture. “I’m looking to bring in organic and Fair Trade coffee,” Sullivan said. “I want a quality product, but price has to be there.”

Fair Trade coffee is coffee that is purchased from companies with the agreement that the workers in the developing countries are working for a fair wage.

Previously, Santa Barbara Roasting Company used to be the provider of coffee to City College until its contract ended. There is talk of a return of the local brand to the campus.

“I am a believer in supporting local businesses,” he said. “It’s a definite possibility. He is in the running. I wouldn’t do anything till next semester.”

Sullivan said he is also interested in providing students with a place to hang out with friends or to just study. He says his goal is to create a comfortable place that has a “familiar feeling to it.”

Robert Robinson has enjoyed the relaxed environment brought to East Campus since the moving of the coffee stand.

“It’s a great atmosphere and you really get to know the people you’re serving,” Robinson said. “They’re out here everyday. It makes the campus a lot smaller to me.”

“Marc decided to put these chairs out here and it’s become more of a place to hang out,” he added.

Students seem to enjoy the tables and chairs around the coffee stand as groups gather between classes in the shade of the umbrellas.

“We’re here to break even, not make a profit,” said Sullivan.

On a smaller scale, a new change to the existing coffee cart might be the addition of a smoothie machine for blended drinks.

But rest assured, avid coffee drinkers, because no matter what changes take place, Sullivan ensures that his fellow coffee drinkers’ caffeine supply will never run out.

“I drink tons of coffee,” he said. “I probably have three to five 20 ounce cups of coffee a day, easily, and I’ll drink whatever is the closest.”

Sullivan admits that Major Dickenson’s coffee is his favorite on campus. “I think there would be drastic problems if I wasn’t serving coffee here,” he said.