Every year students debate about whether campus food is better than scrounging for their own. What can be done for those making the switch from a meal plan to self-reliance cooking? At the beginning of this school year, I had to deal with these very same issues as I tried to make the transition.
At the end of last school year, I signed up in case my roommates and I didn’t want to cook everyday. After moving in, we realized that making our own meals really isn’t that bad. I decided to cancel my meal plan within the first week, as I somehow remembered this being the time limit. On the first day of classes, I went to Russell Sage Dining Hall to cancel as I figured a dining hall was the place to go.
The woman swiping IDs referred me to the ID office in the Union. Unfortunately, the office was closed then, so I had to go in Tuesday. After waiting for freshmen to discover the wonders of RAD accounts, I was told yet again that I was in the wrong place. This time I was redirected to the Residence Life office, where I actually did need to be. I emailed Residence Life for a quicker response since I couldn’t make it there until Friday. I was not sent a response, so I called them Friday morning. I had assumed I would have no problems cancelling since it was still the first week of classes.
It was just my luck that the woman on the other end had no sympathy for my situation. In an unforgiving tone, she told me the deadline was actually that Monday, and my request had to be submitted in writing to Residence Life. I tried to plead with her, explaining that I did try to cancel Monday but didn’t know how to. Apparently, this deadline could have been found on the contract I signed in May.
I obviously didn’t know where that was, as chances were that I threw it away. I had tried to find information on the dining hall websites with very little success. After arguing with the woman for a few minutes, I finally ended with a stern “Fine!” and hung up.
Granted, this information probably is on the contract, there should be an easier way for students to attain it. The problem isn’t that I’m irresponsible or the woman at Residence Life is holding a grudge. The real problems are employees who aren’t trained to handle these situations and meal plans that are not user-friendly.
If those working in the dining halls knew how someone could cancel or were perhaps given the paperwork to do so, all of this business could be handled in one location. I believe that a system of proportions should be instituted to give a refund according to when a student cancels, as opposed to not being able to terminate under any circumstances. The overall cost of the semester could be divided into individual weeks and each week not used would be refunded to the student.
I truly do think that if these ideas were considered the dining plans would run more smoothly, and I could have saved a lot of money this year.
