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One of the most prominent ongoing financial issues for University of Louisville students is the perpetual institution of meal plan fees. For commuter students, the meal plan mostly serves as a financial burden, as the price of $175 a semester seems unnecessary for students who do not live on campus and mostly find sources of food elsewhere. Although students who live on campus can benefit from money used toward food offered by Sodexo, the underlying issue is the flat rate nature of the meal plan and its ability – or inability – to be utilized by each student.
Outside of the mandatory charge, commuter upperclassmen will generally be unaffected by the proposed changes to the meal plan. However, students living on campus pay an astronomical fee for their meal plans and have a set number of meals that can be purchased per week, a concept unfamiliar to many upperclassmen who have only dealt with a set amount of money to be used at will. This aspect of the U of L meal plan has left many resident students with a fixed meal plan schedule, forcing them to use their money by the end of each week.
Alternatively, the university has proposed a block plan that will enable on-campus residents to utilize the plan similar to the way upperclassmen did in earlier years. Although residents will still have meals to spend per week, they will be allowed to use these whenever they choose throughout the semester, instead of rationing them through the week.
The university is ignoring one enormous aspect of this issue: No one wants to live exclusively on fast food and the other dining services that U of L has to offer. Students – whether healthy or unhealthy – are more conscious of their food choices than ever before. The issue is amplified on a day-to-day basis when the only remotely healthy choice available to students with a meal plan is a measly salad joint in the Student Activities Center. Although Ville Grill provided a wide variety of selection when it first opened, many students now regard the facility as a place that merely provides diner food.
No matter how U of L spins the meal plan, students wish to vote with their dollar now more than ever. Students of any age spend an ample amount of time on campus, and will likely spend money at the dining facilities anyway. Restricting students will only cause them to use their money elsewhere, which, considering the selection provided, is a much wiser option.
