All Barnard students will be required to purchase a meal plan as of next year.
Matt Kingston, associate director for housing operations at Barnard, announced Tuesday at a study abroad program meeting for students leaving in the Spring semester that they will be required to have a meal plan when they return in the fall, though he declined to provide further comment.
In an e-mail to the Barnard student body sent out Wednesday evening, Dean Dorothy Denburg notified students that “beginning in the 2010-11 academic year, upper-class students will be required to participate in a limited meal plan.”
The study abroad program meeting provided context for announcing the new policy, which will impact students’ decisions in choosing housing for the fall semester. In the past, students have been ambivalent about choosing a single room in Hewitt, a residence hall in Barnard’s Quad, because it required them to purchase an unlimited meal plan—also required for first-years. Yet under the new dining policy, students who wish to live in Hewitt need no longer fear a first-year style meal plan—they will now be able to choose their own.
Denburg explained the impetus for the move to change the dining policy, stating “With the addition of these wonderful resources, and with an eye towards strengthening Barnard’s sense of community, your SGA leaders and members of Representative Council have been working with me and other administrators over the past year to improve upon the structure of the current meal plan.
We believe that the revised plan will build community and animate the Diana Center, yet still accounts for differences in lifestyle of students by class and residence.”
The options available to students will vary by year. First-year students will still be required to purchase an unlimited meal plan with 250 points. Sophomores living in the quad must purchase 150 meals and 300 points, sophomore non-Quad residents must purchase 40 meals and 800 points, juniors must purchase 450 points, and seniors will be required to purchase 400 points.
Students will be able to redeem their meal points at locations like Java City in Altschul Hall, as well as Barnard’s new dining options in the Diana—Liz’s Cafe and The Cafeteria—which will open at the beginning of next semester. Dining options will include “Kosher, Halal, nut-free, gluten-free and vegan food” and “will improve upon Java City’s current offerings with a wider selection of grab-n-go items.”
As a boon for students, the new meal plan will include “a five percent bonus amount to all dining points” to make “purchases economical as well as convenient.”
The new policy was met with a less-than-warm reception by students.
Anna Scaife, BC ’11, feels that the administration didn’t give students enough opportunity to discuss their feelings about a change in the dining plan, nor is she looking forward to purchasing something that she doesn’t feel she’ll make ample use of. “I know personally I have been without a meal plan for two years and really enjoy being able to cook for myself and select the foods I want to eat rather than being limited to six options—so I’m not particularly looking forward to buying into a food service system that I won’t necessarily make use of,” she said.
By late Wednesday night, a Facebook group titled, “Protect Your Right to Be Off the Meal Plan!” had already attracted 262 members.
Charlotte Powley, BC ’11, is also unenthusiastic about the new requirements. “I want to know more about what I’m eating and I feel like if I cook it, I know more about what’s going into me and I have more control. Financially, I feel like I spend less money on food than I would on a meal plan, and I feel like I’m eating healthier.”
Correction appended: A previous version of this article stated that Barnard students will be required to purchase a meal plan as of next semester. The sentence has been changed to reflect that the policy will be enacted next year.
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