RHA votes no on meal points in Union

The Residence Hall Association failed to pass a proposal last night to get meal points in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Instead, the association passed a new proposal that said it would like the University to develop a clearer message regarding the meal plans available on campus. RHA said it would like to see full information on each meal plan option, including I-Bucks, Union Plus and Campus Access.

The resolution did state RHA was open to ideas for future use of I-Bucks in the Union, but sophomore committee member James Manges said it can’t be done now. He said RHA and the committee does not want to rule this option out for the future but a lot of work needs to go into it.

The committee’s biggest problem with the original proposal from the Union Board was it used the idea of I-Bucks improperly, said Mary Kathryn Frederich, RHA vice president of student affairs.

“I think the wording was too vague,” Manges said.

During a meeting two weeks ago, RHA did not come to a vote on the Union Board resolution, which stated that a form of RPS meal points should be available in the Union. A committee was then formed to rework the content of the resolution and was brought back before the RHA general assembly.

“The main thing the committee decided was we need to better inform students about the meal plans,” Frederich said.

Frederich said the committee did not think all the information is given to students when they sign up for a plan. When students are signing up they need to be better informed about what each plan can be used for and where it can be used.

“We want students to be able to make an informed decision,” she said.

The general assembly passed the new resolution in a 16-8 vote with the understanding further discussion will continue.

Andrew Dahlen, Union Board president, said he thinks the resolution was a signal that change is needed with the currently available meal plans.

“I think the conversation is still moving forward,” Dahlen said.

He said he thinks people from the RHA and Residential Programs and Services will
work together to develop a plan that gives the students what they want while also being economically feasible.

Union Board, and hopefully the IU Student Association, will continue to endorse meal points in the Union, Dahlen said.

“It will be doing the students a disservice if this was not continued to be pushed,” he said.