College students who would like to take their professors out to lunch at the Biltmore but don't have the cash now are able to bill their burgers and cheese fries to the Arts and Sciences Council.
The Council has introduced the Corner Meal Plan Card, which allows College students to treat their professors to free lunch at any restaurant on the Corner Meal Plan.
The new card is an extension of the Cavalier Card program, which has been around since 1997 and allows College students to buy their professors lunch anywhere on Grounds, courtesy of the Council. Now the Council also will pay for up to four students and three professors at a time to eat lunch at most restaurants on the Corner.
The Corner Meal Plan Card also is accepted at some restaurants farther away from Grounds, like the Dragon Lady Restaurant and Southern Culture.
When the Council first introduced the new card there was such high demand for it that they decided to add another card. Now two cards may be checked out every day, allowing more students to take advantage of the program, Council President Heather Gordon said.
The Council began offering the Corner Meal Plan Card at the end of last November and approved the addition of another card Monday, Gordon said.
Now there are five cards available to check out every day, she said: Three Cavalier Cards for use on Grounds and two Corner Meal Plan Cards.
Now, only the College offers free lunches for students and professors.
There is no limit to how much you can charge on each card, but students are on their honor to keep it "reasonable," Gordon said.
Alas, those cheese fries can't be washed down with a pitcher of cold Bud; no alcoholic beverages may be purchased on the card, she said.
Arts and Sciences Council Treasurer Lauren Purnell said the budget for the program is now $4,000 a year, but more money easily may be allocated if needed.
The Board of Visitors gives Council annual funding every year, and a portion of it is directed toward fostering student-faculty interaction, Purnell said.
Much of the funding comes from a student fee of $4 a year.
Glenn Beamer, assistant government and foreign affairs professor, has been treated by students with the Cavalier Card and said he thinks the extension to Corner restaurants is a great idea because students will be more inclined to invite faculty to lunch.
"It's preferable to the Garden Room because [the Corner] is the students' terrain," Beamer said.
The now-defunct Garden Room was a University dining facility designed to be a place where students and faculty ate together and interacted. It closed last semester because of lack of interest.
Faculty Senate Chairwoman Patricia H. Werhane agreed the new card program is a good idea but does not want it to replace the Garden Room.
"We need a place on Grounds where just U.Va. people can gather to eat," Werhane said.
She pointed out that other universities such as Harvard and Yale have excellent dining rooms for faculty and students to eat together.
If students want to use the cards, they can check one out from Garrett Hall, leaving their student ID as collateral.
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