Have You Heard?

There are advantages and disadvantages to the new proposal for the meal plans next year.
After reading last week’s article on this subject and talking to several of my peers about the proposal, I thought I would share my feelings and theirs on this topic.
One popular response from my classmates is that when you give something to someone it’s hard to take it back.
I’m referring to the meal equivalency portion of the meal plan. Meal equivalency, according to the proposal, will not be available next year. This will not only hurt the business of The Pit and Chick-Fil-A, but most people that enjoy the convenience of meal equivalency hours.
During those hours, any customer would notice how busy those restaurants are. I, as well as many of my peers, am a frequent user of this convenience. In fact, I eat most of my meals during those hours.
However, under this new plan, any student that continued to eat most of his or her meals there would run out of flex dollars before half the semester was over.
To my understanding, the work schedule of The Pit and Chick-Fil-A employees is centered around the meal equivalency schedule. Therefore, one can conclude that the elimination of meal equivalency would lead to less business and eventually minimize the need for as many employees.
For example, they have on average of three to four employees during these hours of equivalency. However, with the lack of that business, which usually requires a substantial number of workers at one time, only a couple would be necessary.
Another point that was brought to my attention is that the smallest meal plan on this proposal is 14 meals per week. This meal plan doesn’t accommodate the carriers of the current 10 meals per week and 12 meals per week. For example, I have the 10 meals per week plan, and I barely even use all of those meals by the end of the week.
However, the proposed meal plan of 150 block only provides the user with eight meals per week. This plan doesn’t accommodate students who eat more than once a day.
On the other hand, the new proposal will provide students with flex dollars that will “roll forward” indefinitely, and graduates would be able claim a refund of unused flex dollars.
This is helpful to students who don’t use all of their flex dollars, and therefore won’t have to feel cheated out of their money upon graduation.
Another advantage to the proposal is the “continuous serving hours.” This will help students whose class schedules don’t comply with the meal plan schedules. Yet, are we forgetting about those students who take night classes? Night classes end after 6:30 p.m., which is the proposed closing time for the dining hall next semester.
The convenience of the “carry out” program helped night students and students with busy schedules find time to have a bite.
Under the proposed plan, this program will no longer exist. This will affect any student with a demanding day and with little time to sit down in the dining hall.
I think this proposal needs more thought and more input from the student body.

Erin Semple

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 22 2002. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry