By Tasnim Oyshi
Staff Writer
If you have a meal plan at the College, you are likely familiar with the concept of Meal Equivalency swipes. Considering the complexity of the meal plans, it can be hard to truly understand it, no matter how many times it’s explained to you, until you actually start using your meal swipes, Flex Points or Meal Equivalency swipes at their particular, designated times.
While the entirety of the meal plan system can be confusing at times, it is Meal Equivalency swipes that are the most complicated to use. Most colleges have an option where you can eat at your dining hall by swiping in and you are typically given points that you can use to eat at other dining areas on campus. The College is no different, allowing students to pick a meals-per-week plan that presents them with these two options.
Meal swipes can be used once per meal period at The Atrium at Eickhoff Hall, and Flex Points can be used at any of the dining locations during any part of the day.
Meal Equivalency swipes are an additional perk that students get when they sign up for a plan that includes meal swipes. This, however, is much harder to navigate than the simpler meal swipe and Flex Points structure as they come with many more restrictions. The current rules of the Meal Equivalency system at the College are as follows, according to the the College’s Dining Services website:
One Meal Equivalency swipe is equivalent to $9.80.
Students with a meals-per-week plan have one Meal Equivalency swipe per weekday, Monday through Friday.
Meal Equivalency can be used at all dining locations other than Fresh Pride Café, Sushi, Teri Yaki, 1855 Room, Just Baked, C-Store and for C-Store items at T-Dubs.
Students can use either a meal swipe or a Meal Equivalency swipe during one meal period. Meal swipes and Meal Equivalency swipes are then locked until the next period.
Meal Equivalency swipes can be used during the late-night dining meal period from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at T-Dubs and before 8 p.m. at the Library Cafe.
Meal Equivalency swipes do not reset at midnight and cannot be used more than once a day.
This means two things for students at the College. First of all, you have to remember all of these limitations if you want to use your Meal Equivalency swipes. Secondly and more importantly, if you do not use your Meal Equivalency swipe for the day, it will basically go to waste. As explained on the Dining Services website, that is $9.80 gone to waste.
The rules you have to follow when trying to make use of that money make it much harder to take advantage of what could be an amazing bonus to the meal plan and a great way to save Flex Points and meal swipes for later, especially the weekend when Meal Equivalency is not available. Of course, the absence of Meal Equivalency on the weekends itself is also a problem that prevents students from properly utilizing that extra $9.80 they get for the day.
As the semester progresses, many students find themselves running out of their Flex Points quickly. It can be hard to budget so that the amount you select lasts you the entire 15 to 16 weeks you spend on campus. Some may even end up having to spend actual money that isn’t prepaid through their tuition. For a college student who is already paying so much for their education and will likely end up having student loan debt, this is asking for too much.
It would be considerably easier to make points last if Meal Equivalency swipes could be used more freely. The College students should be able to use Meal Equivalency during the weekend, at any point during the day, instead of at such unnecessarily specific times, at any location on campus, and to get any food items. Frankly, it does not make any sense to not be able to purchase sushi, Teri Yaki and the other restricted food items with Meal Equivalency.
Getting rid of these regulations and allowing a more easily accessible Meal Equivalency system would ensure that students are not throwing away a perk that can be so beneficial to their dining plan. The College should advocate for students to take advantage of the benefits the College gives and reconstructing Meal Equivalency would be a useful and valuable way to do so.
