IUSA backs IMU meal point plan

Student organizations are pushing to get Residential Programs and Services meal points accepted in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Andrew Dahlen, Union Board president, submitted a proposal Tuesday night before the IU Student Association Congress.

After hearing Dahlen’s proposal, Congress members voted unanimously to support accepting meal points in the Union. The vote comes two weeks after the Union Board also unanimously approved the same proposal.

As part of the plan, students would have to opt-in, thus not increasing fees for all students.

Past attempts to secure a program for meal points in the Union have failed, Dahlen said.

“I think one of the biggest mistakes is the issue was not made public enough,” he said.

Pat Connor, RPS executive director, said there have been ongoing conversations between RPS and Union administration about having a form of meal plans in the IMU.

Discussions will continue, he said, but the earliest anything could happen will be the 2010-11 school year.

Both RPS and the IMU will meet and could submit a counter-proposal, but only after student organizations demonstrate that this is what the students want, Connor said.

“If students say they are truly interested in it, then we will make it happen,” he said.

Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU, said the proposal is something that Union administration is very interested in. He said now he is trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

“All the people who will be involved need to sit down together – the Union, RPS and the students,” he said.       
   
As it stands, the proposal will apply to the IMU as well as Sodexo facilities, including the Cyber Cafe in the basement of the Herman B Wells Library.

Connor said the proposal has to go through what could be a lengthy process. Any possible change in the meal plans has to be approved by the Residence Halls Association as well as the meal plan committee.

Besides student support, Connor said there are other concerns. The plan has to make sense for students but also keep the Union from becoming so overcrowded that it will become a disadvantage for students. RPS officials don’t want to do anything that will cause problems for the Union, he said.

Dahlen said the IMU has accepted RPS meal points in the past, and it seemed to be successful, he said.

Connor said the past program ended about 10 to 20 years ago because the number of students signing up for the plan started to drop and the cost to keep the program running was not worth it.

“Union Board has given enough details into what they want,” Connor said. “Our proposal to them will hopefully fall in line with what they want.”


Written proposal passed by the IUSA Congress

“The IUSA Congress recognizes and supports the student body’s desire for RPS meal points to be accepted within the IMU and Cyber Cafe.”

“Any agreement ... shall not increase fees for all students, but rather, give every student an option to include an IMU/Wells Library meal points addition.”