Clarifying meal plan options

Arec Ligon is the president of Foster Quad.

The Residence Halls Association represents the group of IU students most affected by meal plans on campus.

I appreciate the time RHA has taken to make an informed decision on behalf of all residents. I took part in a committee that addressed the proposal for meal points in the Union.

The process was hindered by imprecise language both in the proposal and in the Indiana Daily Student. “Meal points” haven’t been used on campus in two years – they are now called I-Bucks.

In light of this issue, RHA is considering the following resolution passed by our committee:

RPS and the Indiana Memorial Union should continue to develop clearer messages on existing meal plans.

This information should be made available before students sign up for a mandatory RPS meal plan.

After signing up, students should be directed to Union Plus and Campus Access for additional consideration.

Finally, I would like to clarify our stance on the use of RPS I-Bucks in the Union. The original proposal brought to RHA did not ask for I-Bucks to be used in the Union.
Instead, it asked for the creation of an option for students to purchase a separate Union plan at the same time they purchase their I-Bucks.

Since other meal options are already available, we aren’t convinced of this plan’s added benefit to students.

Although this wasn’t addressed in the proposal, at the current time we do not support the use of RPS I-Bucks in non-RPS locations.

We’ve already spoken to many residents of the residence halls, but every student of every floor of every residence hall has the ability to affect this resolution with new ideas and opinions. Please e-mail your thoughts or questions to rha@indiana.edu, and they will be strongly considered.