RPS meal plan meeting closed

The Meal Plan Committee, which makes recommendations on meal plans and dining services for students in the residence halls, voted to bar the public from its weekly meeting last Friday and kicked out three students, including the president of the Residence Halls Association.\nThe students removed were senior Kenji Minami, president of RHA; senior Elizabeth Wysong, executive vice president of Wright Quad; and an IDS reporter.\nSandra Fowler, director of Residential Dining Programs and Services, cited the need for a positive environment for debate. She said members needed a private atmosphere to do so.\n"We do a lot of brainstorming, and we may not come to a consensus," Fowler said. "It has been our experience that information has been taken out of context (in the IDS)."\nWith the IDS and the public present, some committee members felt they would be reluctant to openly speak their mind for fear of being misinterpreted.\n"It's not fair for students to say whatever they want and be under the microscope," graduate student Dietrich Willke said during the committee's Sept. 28 meeting.\nThe committee voted 10-1 Friday to close the public and the media from the meeting before deliberating behind closed doors for an hour and a half.\nAccording to the meeting minutes, discussion included cafeteria usage reports, the budget summary and the possibility of extending the Willkie "I" meal plan. The plan would let eligible students determine the amount of money in their meal points accounts. The minutes become official when approved by the committee at the next meeting. \nMinami said he was disappointed by the decision to close last Friday's meeting.\n"I am absolutely no way in agreement with closing a meeting of any kind," Minami said. "In terms of student representation, I don't think closing a meeting represents student values." \nThe lone dissenting voice on the committee belonged to junior Laura Edwards, president of Foster Quad. She said she believes the committee serves students and has an obligation to keep all its deliberations open to the public, for better or for worse. \n"RPS' main concern is student satisfaction, especially with the meal plan," she said. "As a representative of the student body, I feel that it is a necessity for everyone to be informed."\nAssociate Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Bruce Jacobs backed the committee's decision. \n"The committee should have the opportunity to go through these negotiations without it being trailed in the paper," he said. "They ought to be able to have that give-and-take and exchange without it being played out on the front page."\nAfter the IDS challenged the legality of closing the meeting under Indiana's Open Door Laws, the committee consulted with the University Counsel's office. Their advice was that the Meal Plan Committee, which monitors the meal system and makes recommendations to the Campus Housing Advisory Committee, is exempt from Indiana's Open Door Policy. Therefore, it is within their legal right to close the meeting, committee members said.\n"I don't think it matters what the law is," Minami said. "From a student perspective, it should be open."\nFourteen people sit on the committee: seven students and seven RPS staff members. The seven students each represent one of the residence halls. Senior Brian Holman is chairman of the committee and does not vote. Holman is also an IDS employee. Two members were absent.\nThe next meal plan meeting will be Friday. \nWright Quad President Jennifer Jacobs, a junior, said she doesn't see any reason to close Friday's meeting. \n"I don't anticipate any issues coming up this week that would lead me to vote the same way," she said.