Red Rover, Red Rover

There was a time when student meal points didn't roll over from fall to spring semester. If any student had extra meal points, those points were absorbed by RPS. Since 1998, when the Hall of Residence and Department of Student Life merged to create Residential Programs and Services, the division has changed its policy so meal points now roll over automatically from fall to spring, much to the relief of IUB students. It's time for RPS to upgrade again. Meal points should roll over from one academic year to the next, too.\nFreshmen, or students living in residence halls for the first time, are required to purchase large meal plans. The minimum number of meal points a freshman can purchase is 2,480 points for the academic year. All students who live in dorms, other than fourth-year residents and residents who live in Willkie Quad, Mason Hall and RPS apartments, are also required to purchase a plan. Smaller options are available for second- and third-year residents. \nWe understand that RPS needs security to ensure that it can keep offering quality services to students. Forcing freshmen to buy meal plans their first year in the dorms helps them avoid the combined pressure of managing a food budget and adjusting to a new school at the same time. But if meal plans in the dorms are mandatory, RPS should allow points to roll over at the end of the academic year so that students can get their money's worth.\nPrices at the dining halls and the C-Stores are already inflated. While one meal point is the equivalent of $1, the prices for snack foods like energy bars and ice cream are well above the price at any local grocery store. Students are spending more money on RPS services than they could by buying their own groceries. RPS can justify its inflated prices with the convenience and breadth of services it offers students. Allowing meal points to roll over from one academic year is another necessary step to keep students happy with the services RPS provides so they won't be more encouraged to move off campus to escape the financial burden of a meal plan that doesn't carry over. \nRPS has never been a profit-making venture. It exists to provide services to students and succeeds in offering students a wide variety of meal options. In Gresham dining hall, students can choose a deli sandwich from Stacks, taco salad from Taco John's, a home-style meal from Iron Kettle, a grilled burger from Flamingo Grill or build their own salad at the salad bar, among other options, on any given day. RPS gives students variety, and we're not asking RPS to stop requiring students to buy meal plans. Student meal plans offer security not only to students but to RPS by guaranteeing that a large group of students will be purchasing meal points every year. But RPS needs to give students ample opportunity to spend their meal points if they want to keep students living in dorms and content with inflated prices. \nIf RPS rolls over excess meal points this spring to the 2006-2007 academic year, it won't lose money students have already paid. Even more importantly, students now deterred from campus living by expensive meal plans might be willing to stick around to renew their plan next year.