Many of our staff members were surprised by the findings presented in our article about meal plan usage. While the WSA calculated that, on average, students have at least 55 points remaining at the end of each semester, we would bet that every student on campus has overheard complaints about running out of points. The fact that such a disparity exists between meal plan usage statistics and student testimony indicates that the meal plan situation is more complex than most people make it out to be.
The administration is accountable for creating a meal plan that overcharges students for meals that they don’t need. However, while this concern is valid—according to the article on page one, on average each student has 20 meals leftover at the end of each semester—it is unfair to expect the administration to be capable of devising a meal plan that would function perfectly for everyone.
We could easily discuss how Weshop’s products are overpriced or how it is unjust that freshman and sophomores are forced to purchase too many meals.
We could speculate on why the meal plan is the way it is: whether the current meal plan structure was guided by lofty ideas about “progressive independence” and fostering community among underclassmen, or merely driven by underlying financial issues.
Since, however, it is unfair to generalize about the University’s eating habits, it is difficult to articulate what exactly these concerns are and what the solutions would be. In addition, if revisions were made to the meal plan system, either funding would be cut from dining services directly or from other areas of the University budget.
Simply complaining that the meal plan provides too little or too much food will not solve anything. If students are truly outraged about issues in the meal plan and desire change, we as a student body must discuss our priorities with the administration, and realize that the money for meal plan reform must come from somewhere.
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