California Lutheran University should change its meal plan system to eliminate the 15-minute waiting period between meal swipes and increase the value of each individual meal swipe.
As a student juggling classes, work schedules, extracurricular activities, and social life, food convenience is personally the last thing I want to think about. Unfortunately, this is something that many students, including myself, need to balance due to the current waiting period between meal swipes.
โI think the 15-minute waiting period is ludicrous,โ sophomore Robert Johnston said.
Johnston said he believes that the $6.25 meal swipe value does not account for inflation and by increasing the monetary value, students would get more benefit out of their meal plans.
Sophomore Class Senator Mathias Schmidt said the university should not have โany sort of enforcement when telling others when they can or cannot eat.โ
Schmidt said that controlling when and how much students eat contributes to disordered and irregular eating and could greatly impact students who struggle with eating disorders.
โThe point of these meal swipes is that we are providing ourselves our own meals, and a lot of people donโt have time or money to head out to Trader Joeโs and, like, buy a ton of stuff to cook,โ Johnston said.
Students should not have to allocate external resources to making meals in their dorms. Many students do not have the convenience of a kitchen in their rooms, making cooking for themselves that much more difficult.
Johnston said that because students have access to check their meal plan status and track the amount of meal swipes they have, Cal Lutheran should trust students in their use of meal swipes.
โItโs not putting trust within the students to be able to budget their own meal swipes,โ Johnston said.
Schmidt said that he believes it is valuable for freshmen to have a meal plan, with many being away from home for the first time. However, he does not believe that students need to be monitored in how and when they choose to use their meal plan.
โI think that part of the going off to college experience is learning how to manage yourself and realizing that thereโs not a safety net and all,โ Schmidt said.
Schmidt said that for Jamba, Starbucks and The Habit, the 15-minute time gap makes sense as a way to make the income of orders more manageable for the staff at these locations.
Freshman and Sodexo Marketing Intern Disha Arnold said she would not be surprised if people were saying that eliminating the wait time would be more convenient for them. Arnold adds that she has not personally had any issues with the meal swipe program, including the 15-minute waiting period.
โI donโt think itโs, like, highly concerning because 15 minutes seems pretty reasonable to me,โ Arnold said.
Johnston said he agrees with the value of a meal swipe at Ullman Commons because there is a variety of food options available and it is self-serve;however, it can be hard to sit down for a meal with a busy schedule and Ullmanโs limited hours of operation. Johnston said that The Habit, Jamba, and Starbucks do not have as much to offer given the $6.25 meal swipe value.
โI donโt think that it makes any sense for them to have hours where theyโre closed during the day,โ Schmidt said.
Johnston said that many items at Ullman-To-Go and Jamba Juice surpass the $6.25 limit, and force students to pay extra out of pocket or from their Munch Money.
โI definitely feel like itโs stopping people from using their meal swipes to their full potential and actually getting a satisfying meal,โ Johnston said.
Arnold said that student feedback is very important to Sodexo, and that students should take time to fill out surveys and feedback forms if they want to see change.
โI feel like we actually look back on the research study or any of the feedback that we get back,โ Arnold said.
Arnold said that her boss takes feedback โvery seriously.โ
Sodexo currently has a feedback survey open that students can submit comments and concerns regarding their experience with the dining program at Cal Lutheran. QR codes can be found throughout Ullman Commons.
Arnold said that Sodexo do tabling events to gather student feedback and that the survey that is currently open is offered each semester for students to participate in.
Schmidt said that the Senate has already been discussing the 15-minute waiting period and it is his goal to remove it entirely.
โGive students more trust in their purchasing power because we are able to see our own meal swipes and track them all the time,โ Johnston said.
Students have busy schedules that would be made easier if they did not need to account for the current stipulations put onto the meal plans. Sodexo and Cal Lutheran should put more trust in their student body to manage their meal plans and learn independence.
