With meal plan prices scheduled to increase by an average of 5.4 percent next year — not to mention the current economic situation — the University should reconsider its requirement that first-year students spend nearly $4,000 for a year-long meal plan. A mandatory meal plan can serve a valuable purpose during the first semester of first year, when students are adjusting to college life, meeting their new peers and learning to balance their budgets. After their first semester, however, students could be given greater flexibility to either opt out of a meal plan or to choose a much smaller, less expensive one.
First-year students will be required to choose in the fall among various meal plan options that all come with a price tag of $3,780 for the academic year. In the fall, first-year students must choose a plan with at least 13 dining hall meals per week, while in the spring they are allowed to choose a plan featuring 10 meals a week and extra Plus Dollars. For the many students who do not use all of their weekly meals — as well as for those students who do not tend to get their money’s worth by gorging themselves at the all-you-can-eat buffet — the available options are less than ideal from both culinary and economic perspectives.
By the spring semester, many first-year students have found dining hall food to lack variety. Additionally, a number of students who require vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and kosher options would likely appreciate an opportunity to purchase and consume food that better meets their needs. Although first-year students do not typically have regular access to a kitchen, it would still be possible for many first-year students to have a healthy and cheaper — not to mention tastier — diet without eating frequently in the dining halls during the spring semester. It can be less expensive to eat at a number of Corner establishments than at a dining hall, and first-year students also can use University transportation to easily reach a grocery store. For those who might claim that this would lead to unhealthy eating habits, it is worth considering that limitless refills and tempting, unhealthy options can lead many students to make choices that are no healthier than a diet of microwavable meals or dinners on the Corner would be.
Allowing first-year students to cancel their meal plans after the fall semester or to choose one of the smaller meal plans for upperclassmen — such as 50 meals per semester — potentially could benefit not only first-year students but also other dining hall patrons. Such a policy might encourage the dining halls to put additional effort into providing high-quality meals and service to attract more students’ business.
It also seems unlikely that the dining halls would suffer significantly as a result of making such a change — though University officials should of course consider potential economic repercussions before enacting this kind of policy. Although dining halls do need to maintain enough traffic to avoid losing money, allowing first-year students to opt out of meal plans during the spring semester likely would not cause a large decrease in the population of students choosing to eat at the dining hall. Many first-year students — just like the large number of upperclassmen who choose to purchase a meal plan once it is no longer mandatory — undoubtedly appreciate the dining halls’ convenience and quality. For those students with picky palates or budget constraints, however, a more flexible policy regarding first-year meal plans could be a welcome change.
Read More
EDITORIAL: Scapegoating students will not stop hazing
By Editorial Board | 4 days agoInstead of retroactively responding to extreme hazing allegations, we, and especially the University, must begin asking more probing questions about the role of fraternal organizations on Grounds.
EDITORIAL: Celebrating and reflecting on The Cavalier Daily’s independence
By Editorial Board | April 18, 2024Our independence grants us the ability to ask the hard questions and to say what University representatives cannot.
EDITORIAL: Pedestrian safety is an institutional imperative
By Editorial Board | April 15, 2024Amid a national crisis of pedestrian safety, Charlottesville and the University are also struggling to properly maintain pedestrian safety.
