RPS: Really Poor Service

Residential Programs and Services sucks. As far as I can see, the entire meal system is designed to produce large quantities of cash for the University, which it does very well. This money comes from the students, though, and given what they're getting in return, students are getting screwed. \nThe prices at the C-Stores are ridiculous. Every student knows this, but pays anyway for limited selection goods. Why? Because students are required to buy enormous meal plans if they choose to live on campus. Yet even with the astoundingly bad prices, students rarely spend their entire meal plan easily, with hundreds of dollars disappearing into oblivion at the end of every year. \nOutside of the C-Stores, things are slightly better in terms of price, but even worse in terms of food quality. Seven dollars and fifty cents for all-you-can-eat at Read is OK, but the quality of the food is pretty dubious most days. Food courts such as Wright are pretty good, but expensive enough to make the bill hurt. That is, it would hurt if it were "real" money and not meal points. That money has already been stolen by RPS. \nIn an article that ran in the Indiana Daily Student exactly one year ago titled "Paying the Price," RPS representatives argued they weren't responsible for the high prices, because they couldn't buy in bulk like Kroger or Marsh. They also say they spend all the money, though reports show an enigmatic "administrative overhead" siphoning off 13 percent of each dollar. My response to this defense is quite simple: If you can't manage to sell food to us at prices we want to pay, let us shop someplace else.\nThere are two ways to go about doing this. One, keep all the RPS administrative garbage and its prices but don't force us to buy a meal plan if we want to live in a dorm. Shelter and food are separate entities, so we can buy food off-campus and not worry about spending our meal points. Two, kill RPS. I'm not talking about the dorms -- take away all of their pitiful attempts at feeding us. Sell the space from the C-stores and the dining halls to people who can actually run a business without monopolistic benefits. \nHowever, the stores must be set up so as not to replace RPS with another monster. Bring in two different grocery stores, so there's competition. Then replace all the dining services with private firms, making places like Foster a real food court with competitive prices and food, and turning "traditional dining" venues into Golden Corrals or Ryan's. \nIf the University absolutely needs the money it's making off RPS, they can get the same, if not more, from the rent these firms will be paying. And if the idea of a mandatory meal plan is not part of a monopoly scheme, but in fact, ensuring that students will spend their money on food and not booze, then RPS can keep the meal plan. Just create a system like Campus Access, where the money is good at all the new restaurants they add.\nI don't expect RPS to heed what I say. They might write me, telling me all the ways I'm wrong and how they're actually good people looking out for us. I won't believe them. I doubt that other students would, either. \nIU Student Association elections are coming up. Wouldn't it be neat if the students tried to make their views heard about this subject and tried to change things? The process will be a slow one, but I'd like to hear what this year's candidates have to say about fixing RPS. This is far more important than bus passes.