Chaminade University students lined up outside the Silversword Café on Tuesday night for Crunch Brunch, the campus’s long-running late-night breakfast tradition designed to give students a moment to breathe before finals week. The end-of-semester Crunch Brunch offered comfort food and a relaxed atmosphere that encouraged any student with a valid Chaminade ID to take a break from studying and reconnect with each other before heading into one of the toughest stretches of the academic year.
Crunch Brunch has been a regular part of campus life for more than two decades. Cheryl Edelson, the dean of humanities, arts, and design, who has worked at Chaminade for 21 years, said its longevity comes from how reliably students embrace the chance to recharge. What began as a simple late-night breakfast has become an anticipated event during finals season.
“It’s really just for students as they’re studying for finals,” Edelson said. “For them to come and eat and refuel themselves so that they’re ready for finals.”
At the door, student workers and staff volunteers checked Chaminade IDs before welcoming attendees inside, where the smell of breakfast foods filled the room.
The menu was prepared by the dining services team, which takes on most of the planning and logistics. Edelson said the group selects dishes based on what has historically drawn the strongest reaction from students.
“The biscuits and gravy are always really popular,” she said. “The ice cream — we convinced them on that one. And then just regular breakfast stuff. People come back all the time with plates full, but that’s good.”
This semester’s spread included scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, fruit, pastries, and a toppings bar near the ice cream station. Students crowded the tables in groups, swapping stories about their classes and sharing their plans for winter break. Others grabbed their plates and found quiet corners to take a breather before returning to their studies.
For many, the break came at the perfect time. With papers due, exams approaching, and extracurricular commitments on top of everything else, the event offered a rare moment to reset. Sophomore psychology major Holly Dolny, a member of the women’s basketball team, said the evening helped her decompress.
“I really enjoyed myself at this event,” Dolny said. “I was able to forget about all the studying, exams, and projects I have due this week and just let loose.”
Edelson said planning Crunch Brunch is a smooth process because dining services handles nearly every operational detail.
“We just say we want to do it on this date, and they do all of the work,” Edelson said. “So it’s really them.”
Attendance appeared strong throughout the night as students continued filtering in even an hour after the doors opened. Edelson said Crunch Brunch typically draw between 100 and 120 students, and she said this year’s crowd seemed on pace with that turnout.
The tradition paused during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a gap for several incoming classes. Edelson said it has taken time for the event to rebuild recognition, but student interest has grown steadily.
“When the pandemic hit, we didn’t have it for a long time,” she said. “I think it’s making a comeback, and now it’s been long enough that people know.”