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After having his hand raised for a good 15 minutes, a student is called on by SGA President Rudy Spencer. He rises from his seat and asks a question directed to Spencer. “Do you honestly think there are more people who support this meal plan than don’t?”
“Yes,” Spencer answered. The end of his statement was followed by laughter and sounds of disbelief among the people crowded in the SAC’s Multi-purpose room.
On Tuesday October 20, Spencer along with Sudexo representatives held a two hour forum to address concerns regarding the mandatory meal plan that will be implemented fall 2008.
The heated discussions involved several common concerns and suggestions.
With the realization that the contract has been signed, students questioned SGA about what they believed to be a lack of communication and student involvement with this decision. .
Senior Political Science major Corey Cagle’s concern was that students will not be refunded for their unused money.
“You are saying that I have to buy a $250 mandatory meal plan,” Cagle sternly stated. “Well, if I don’t use all of that service, what happens to my money exactly? They are not giving it back to me. Where does it go?”
Spencer answered by saying that the money will be used to pay off the $11 million in improvements and to pay for the actual Sudexo operations.
With the exemption policies not fully developed, sophomore communication major Jaison Gardner asked if students could help create the waiver from the meal plan.
The following day at the SGA senate meeting, Services Vice President Dani Smith explained that she is accepting e-mails from people who would like to serve on a committee that will help develop the waiver policies.
Also at the meeting, several students and senate members expressed their concerns about the communication issue. One senator suggested placing a questionnaire on the SGA voting ballots that are submitted annually. Several agreed that a student’s demographic information should be recorded on surveys and voting to ensure the sample represents a wide range of students.
SGA and students alike are taking action to ensure communication is improved and that there is more student involvement on U of L’s campus.
