When Kyra McGoey walks into the Hickey Dining Hall with her friends, she evaluates her food options, often unhappy with what she finds. McGoey, a sophomore English major, said she regularly avoids certain foods, like fish, while checking to see whether other options, like chicken, are cooked properly.
Students that live in Devereux, Doyle, Falconio, Francis, Loughlen, Robinson and Shay residence halls are required to purchase one of three main meal plans offered for undergraduate students. Bona Platinum, Bona Gold and Bona Silver all allow students unlimited meal swipes to the Hickey Dining Hall as well as varying amounts of Flex Dollars allotted each semester.
McGoey, who lives in Devereux, is required to have an unlimited meal plan.
Students living off-campus, as well as in the Townhouses and Garden Apartments, are given the option to purchase a different set of meal plan options that provide less access to the university’s dining services, but also come at a significantly lower price.
“Students can manage their meal plan, add more flex dollars or Bona Bucks by visiting the one-stop tab on my.sbu.edu,” said Associate Director of Residence Life Robbie Chulick. “It is now too late in the semester to decrease a meal plan (that has to be done by the second week of classes), but students can always increase their level of meal plan if they choose throughout the semester.”
However, students living on campus have begun to express their frustration at choices for a meal plan. McGoey started a petition for students and university community members to sign to force the university to discontinue the current meal-plan policy.
“I started the petition because the food has gotten to a point where we, as students, have to be cautious while eating it,” said McGoey. “I think we overpay for what we get.”
McGoey’s petition had over 80 signatures as of Thursday.
The unlimited meal plans, though they offer students the flexibility to utilize the dining hall whenever they feel it necessary, seem to be more than many students need. As students become more well-adjusted to college life, they are able to make better judgements as to how to utilize their meal swipes.
“I understand that freshman need to get the unlimited plan because they do not know how much they will use the dining hall,” said Elias Kott, a sophomore finance major. “But as a sophomore, I know how much I will use it, and the plan I am forced to have is significantly more than I need.”
The problem that students are facing appears even more apparent in the lives of student-athletes, who spend many of their weekends off campus competing.
“[It is] especially [bad] for student-athletes. Oftentimes, they are not on campus enough to make full use of their meal plan,” said Kott. “I have tried to reach out to dining service representatives but I have not heard back from anyone.”
McGoey said that the petition she started has been up for about a week. Once the petition reaches 200 signatures or more, McGoey said that she plans to take students’ concerns to university officials.
“I plan to speak with dining hall management and [residence life officials] if I reach my goal,” said McGoey. “If nothing is done, then I will reach out to the president in hopes things will change.”
McGoey said that if the university changes its policies, she, “would use the money for off-campus dining, groceries or food (she) would actually eat.”
By Julia Schneider, Staff Writer
schneije18@bonaventure.edu
