Last Thursday, about 1,000 freshmen returned from Outdoor Action and Community Action and began to settle into their dorms, joining those who chose not to do a pre-orientation program. For freshmen, their mandatory University meal plans were effective immediately, ensuring they would have access to meals for the ensuing days of hectic orientation programming. Non-freshmen, however, have experienced firsthand key flaws and disparities in the meal plan system that the Editorial Board believes the University must address. Currently, non-freshman residential college meal plans begin on the Monday before classes start, three days after freshmen meal plans, creating a host of problems for many groups of students. This Board believes that the University should move back the start of general meal plans from Monday to Saturday, benefiting both students who would prefer to move into their dorms during the weekend and their families. Additionally, we propose similar reforms to benefit OA and CA leaders, as well as early arrival groups such as performing arts groups, the Honor Committee, student government, college councils and others.
As a matter of fairness and just compensation, the University should give pre-orientation volunteer leaders free meal plans during freshman week and before the trip. Every year, OA and CA leaders who must be on campus to lead freshman trips have to incur significant expense and inconvenience in eating out, or else go hungry. For OA, this inconvenience also applies during before trip, when the OA program provides two small meals a day but leaders are on their own for any additional food. OA and CA are crucial parts of the freshman experience for many and serve a vital role in the wider scheme of University orientation. Furthermore, the upperclassmen who lead these trips are unpaid volunteers, and in the case of OA leaders, have already spent hundreds of dollars on the training to become qualified leaders.
That the University relies on the generosity of these leaders without providing meals is not only unfair, but also a harm to mentorship on campus. Not providing meals reduces the possibility of continuing the guidance of pre-orientation programs in conversations between leaders and freshmen over dining hall meals during these crucial first days. Too often, these pre-orientation leaders disappear onto Nassau Street or the U-Store for their meals, and lose touch with freshmen.
These glaring flaws of the system are also easily fixable, especially given that athletes returning for pre-season have special athletic meal plans and at least one dining hall is already open. Athletes serve a vital role in the life of the University, and are rightly given meals; pre-orientation leaders also play an immense role, and should be compensated, if only with the basic necessities. Addressing this issue will also become more important in the coming years as the University expands the OA program, as recruiting the necessary number of volunteer leaders will demand eliminating disincentives at the least, if not adding other incentives.
Besides OA and CA leaders, there are many students who have valid reasons to return to campus early, and should be given the option of purchasing an extension to their meal plan. These include organizations such as Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education peers, student technology consultants and performance art groups. Because so many students fall under this category, and because even those who don’t should be given the option of having extra time to settle in, this Board recommends moving meal plans back to move-in day for everyone and allowing extensions to be bought for even earlier returns. If the University finds it reasonable to grant early housing to certain students, a similar or even joint application process should be established for food. The reforms presented here would present only a minor cost and inconvenience to the University, and will greatly benefit hundreds of students and ensure food to those who play an active role in University life.
The Editorial Board is an independent body and decides its opinions separately from the regular staff and editors of The Daily Princetonian. The Board answers only to its Chair, the Opinion Editor and the Editor-In-Chief.
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