RPS not keeping students in mind

There is one fact everyone on this campus can attest to -- college students have erratic schedules. Yet time and time again, Residential Programs and Services has seemingly ignored this fact in its practices. Just when dorm residents thought they'd achieved some flexibility with the meal plan, RPS changed the hours at its food courts again. Yes, Wright is still open until midnight, but most of the restaurants there now close at 8 p.m., leaving few choices by midnight. And that is only one example.\n RPS had come a long way since the limited options of the meal plan a few years ago, with one plan including three meals a day served for two hours each. If you missed dinner because you were working late, too bad. The Wright Place food court changed all that in 1998. But the latest schedule changes, including at The Marketplace at Eigenmann and at Wright, revert back to that "eat now or eat elsewhere" mentality. RPS needs to consider students who work late in the evenings or have other commitments. \n If students are expected to eat on campus, they need to be able to eat when they have time. Otherwise, they will opt for pizza or tacos every time.\n The food in the dorms isn't bad, especially when compared to some other universities. In that sense, IU students are lucky. Even the traditional dining halls, which lost money for RPS when they moved to a points system, were not bad. But students need the freedom to eat according to their own schedules, and they'll be more inclined to eat on campus when they are free to do that.\nRPS has cited financial woes to explain why it cannot provide students with all of the services they would like. For example, the IDS reported in March 1998 that RPS must pay franchises -- such as McDonald's -- for the services they provide students, and RPS must attempt to make up the difference elsewhere. Yet with the exorbitant amounts of money students pay for meal plans, not to mention the inflated prices in the cafeterias, food courts and center stores, RPS should have enough money to at least break even. It seems RPS could somehow make the program work.\nIf students are forced to purchase a meal plan, they should at least be able to eat when they want. By closing popular food courts and restaurants early, RPS is turning away students who would have gladly eaten there.\nThen again, if students can't use their meal points, RPS will reap the benefits of unused, unrefunded points in the end. That might help them to stay within their budget, but it's unfair for students who spend thousands of dollars each year just to eat.