The WSA Dining Proposal concept looks like a step in the right direction.
Under the proposed plan draft, freshmen and sophomores will have five meals a week, along with enough points to purchase their other meals. Juniors will keep an all-points plan similar to the current 1,375-point policy, while seniors will have the option to buy half a plan. The plan does away with losing meals if they are not used in a week. Instead, freshmen and sophomores will be allocated the bulk of their meals at the beginning of each semester, to use as needed. This seems both more logical and cost effective for the student.
The committee calls for all-night dining options, wider acceptance of meals at dining venues, and a composting program, all positive additions. In addition, the proposal suggests quicker, more accessible breakfast and lunch options. We also applaud the framing of meals as community fostering activities.
While we are glad that the WSA has been sensitive to student needs in this matter, it seems that given the annual amount students are paying, one should not need to demand, or even suggest, good quality, reasonable prices, and transparency.
Furthermore, we urge all the parties involved to find a way to involve WesWings and Red and Black café more seamlessly into the meal plan. As it stands, the meal plan illogically limits the venues available to the consumer who has been forced into the said plan in the first place. While we understand and respect the complexity of the service workers union issue, why should the student, who is paying for the service, bear the brunt of the conflict as well?
The institution of a 24-hour dining facility deserves another mention. Other schools provide this service to students, catering to the hectic, unpredictable hours most of them keep. University students should not have to hunt for dinner after 8 p.m. or pop caffeine pills because there is no place to get a cup of coffee at 1 a.m.
We’ve seen many WSA proposals ignored or forgotten, but we hope this one stands up to the tests it will surely face in the coming months. We think the draft of this proposal articulates the issues fairly well, sad as it may be that we have to ask for such basic amenities. We urge the administration to listen, and to regard these issues not as requests, but as requirements, for future food services at Wesleyan.
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