A resolution to change the current meal plan system failed Tuesday during a Student Government Association senate meeting
Andrea Schwartz, the Student Services chair, proposed a resolution to alter the meal plan system for fall 2008. She said the legislation was in response to complaints from students that it is too easy to run out of meal points before the end of the semester.
The proposed meal plan would resemble SUNY Cortland's meal plan setup, which uses an allocation of meals per week instead of a points system.
With the traditional meal plan system, a meal would be limited to a certain buffet price that would fluctuate throughout the day. Typically, breakfast would cost less than lunch or dinner. A certain number of meal passes would be available for students to use on their guests, or to use as extra meals should they run out during the week.
The plan would also create a separate account for snacks. The account would be modeled after SUNY Cortland's "dragon points" but hold a Dutch theme. The points would allow students to refrain from spending their meal passes when they do not take a full meal from a dining facility buffet. The points would also be applied if students take more than the designated portion a meal pass allows.
SGA Spirit Committee Chairwoman Tammy Kim said the new plan would be unfair and confusing.
However Schwartz said the traditional meal plan would potentially cost less money for students and the University in the long run. She said a survey was conducted a year ago that proved the majority of students would prefer a traditional meal plan over a points system. "[The pricing] would be more universal instead of outrageous," Schwartz said.
Senators had many concerns about the proposed change in the meal plan. "Hofstra is too big for this kind of plan. Most students would run out of their 'dragon points' too quickly," said Stephanie Kaplan, the SGA Public Relations chair.
"I feel like the choice and variety offered would be similar to a cafeteria style. The variety would ultimately be lessened. It would be more like a high school cafeteria setup," she added.
The traditional meal plan could pose difficulties for students who aren't on campus seven days a week but still need to buy food during the day. "[It] would be a disadvantage to commuters," said Kaplan. "There are a lot of shades of gray. This would create more stress for students and a lot of complexities students don't need."
Jared Berry, the Rules committee chair, felt that SGA did not have enough facts to make the decision to switch because it was not made clear by the study how many students would prefer the traditional plan to the current meal plan.
The resolution was defeated by a vote of 0 for, 28 against, and 6 abstentions.