RPS to expand options

Beginning next year, all students in their fourth year of living in a residence hall will have the option to create their own meal plan, or to forego a meal plan altogether. \nThe proposal was approved by the Meal Plan Committee in a 12-1 vote Friday. \nCalled the Willkie I plan, this approach works much like a blank check -- it allows students the liberty to write in whatever dollar amount they want for the entire year. And if a student prefers, he or she may opt to write in no money at all.\nCurrently, all dorm residents are required to purchase from one of three pre-selected dollar amounts for a meal plan. The only exceptions are residents in Willkie, Residential Programs and Services sponsored apartments, and Mason Hall, who also have the Willkie I plan available. \n"It is better because students can select their own plan," said Dining Services Special Events Coordinator Graham Shepfer. "You can make it fit whatever your needs are."\nBy the time residents are in their fourth year, the committee said, they will have cars to travel off campus to eat and will hopefully be more responsible in budgeting their money without the aid of a meal plan.\n"I think it's a good plan because it gives students more responsibility and freedom to eat where they want," said senior Ilia Smith, president of Willkie Quad.\nThe bottom line of the new plan is to give greater freedom and latitude to fourth-year residents when making dining selections. \nBut the decision also acts as a mini-trial experiment for the Meal Plan Committee. Once implemented, they will be closely monitoring the financial repercussions of the move to determine if they can extend this option to even more students in the coming years.\n"The goal was to help all students," said committee chairman and president of Wright Quad Brian Holman, a senior. "But we had to start somewhere that wouldn't hurt the budget."\nErrol Huffman, training coordinator and business consultant for dining services, warned that if enough students elect to not have a meal plan, it could lead to a cut in certain food services. At the same time, he anticipates that giving more options to fourth-year students may increase retention rates.\n"We want to look at how many would participate and at what level," he said. "The intent is not to change any services. That's why we want to do this in small steps, to ensure that we can maintain services. If it can balance out right, we won't have to decrease them in any way."\nCurrently, there are 241 fourth-year students living in the residence halls and 534 third-year residents.\nGraduate student and committee member Dietrich Willke said he is optimistic that the new approach will increase the number of fourth-year students who choose to live in the dorms.\n"A lot of people left (the residence halls) to live in family housing because of the meal plan," he said. "A lot might come back if they have the option to not have one."\nCollins president John Schlafer, a sophomore, was the only committee member to vote against the proposal for fear of a backlash in the quality and selection of food. \n"For me and the residents of Collins, the Willkie I plan is not a priority," he said. "Really it's about which services do we want to increase -- student options or quality of food"