The Spring Recess Meal Plan provided brunch and dinner at Rockefeller Dining Hall. Students who did not have the unlimited meal plan had the option of buying the meal plan for $120, or roughly $7 per meal.
“A number of students stay on campus during breaks, and having this as an option is a real help. You can only have so many meals at Hoagie Haven before you crave a change of pace,” Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said.
The program was developed in response to student feedback, Dining Services Director Stu Orefice said. Many freshmen and sophomores on financial aid had expressed concern about how to pay for their meals during breaks if they stayed on campus, Orefice explained.
About 200 students signed up for the plan, though not all of them took advantage of the meals, Orefice said.
Josh Franklin ’11, who stayed on campus during break for Outdoor Action leader training, said he was happy when he found he could get free meals.
“The University allowed me to eat for free,” Franklin said, adding that he thought it was reasonable given how expensive the unlimited meal plan is. He noted, however, that he did not think it was a big deal, but that it was more convenient for him than buying food off campus.
Not everyone, however, was pleased with the pilot. Many students who stayed on campus were seniors working on their theses, most of whom do not have a University meal plan and could not benefit from the free meals. Eating clubs typically do not serve meals during breaks.
“Why not make life easier for people trying to finish their theses?” asked Aaron Buchman ’08.
“There are a lot of people foraging for food during breaks,” he said. “Sometimes it seems like the entire purpose of the University is to give away food, but not during breaks.”
Buchman recalled standing in a long line at a study break last Wednesday because it was the only way many students had of getting free food.
“In general, the University doesn’t do enough for people staying on campus [during breaks],” Buchman added. He noted, though, that the University is better at providing for students during spring break because many seniors stay on campus.
Buchman explained that the University should be more helpful to students who stay during other breaks. He added that foreign students in particular tend to stay because home is so far away and they are in particular need of financial assistance.
“[The University] has to recognize that just because classes shut down, student lives don’t shut down,” Buchman said.
Orefice stressed that offering the Spring Recess Meal Plan for free to students with the unlimited meal plan was only a pilot.
“We hope to offer this plan during Fall Break, Intersession and spring break in the future, and that its availability will help alleviate the financial demands on aid students who do not travel home or elsewhere during breaks,” he said, noting that many students on financial aid also have the unlimited meal plan.
Buchman, however, said he was confused as to why they would limit free food to students with the unlimited meal plan.
“It almost seemed like an attempt to sell the highest-priced meal plan,” he said, noting that this was strange because “Dining Services is not a cash cow for the University.” Buchman said he felt that free food should also have been offered to students with the block meal plans. Though he understood that the University would not want to give free food to students with no meal plan since they had not paid for dining hall food, he thought this was unfair to upperclassmen and suggested that the cost be covered by the housing or student fees.
“I suppose it should be offered to everybody,” Franklin said, but stressed that he didn’t really know the details and that the University may have had a good reason to limit it to those with the unlimited plan.
“The block meal plans are designed to include a percentage of missed meals,” Orefice explained. “If this program was offered to students with a block plan, we would have to increase the cost of the plan.” Orefice added that some seniors did take advantage of the program.
Orefice said he was surprised that not all students who signed up for the plan used the available meals. “We prefer to not waste food,” he said.
Original URL: http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/03/28/20594/