Opinion: Students Should Be Able to Pick Their Own Meal Plan

by Kaedi Strother

Kaedi Strother

Every student living on the campus of Southwestern Adventist University is required to choose a meal plan. SWAU offers students two choices of meal plans. But for one of the choices, the requirements go even further, requiring some students to be 22 years old, or have 90+ credit hours to pick one of the meal plans.

In the first meal plan, students have unlimited access to the cafeteria, seven days per week. This also comes with $125 credit for the Knights Market and Grill. The catch is that this is a hard requirement for any student under the age of 22, or who has 89 or fewer cumulative credit hours on their SWAU transcript. This meal plan costs $2,525 per semester.

The second meal plan is the 22+ meal plan, available to students 22 years of age and up, or students with 90+ credit hours. Unlike the seven days per week plan, this meal plan is not unlimited. This meal plan is $1,515 per semester, and students are charged by the meal for each entry with a $50 per day limit until the $1,515 is used up. This amount can also be used in the Knights Market and Grill.

Students should be given the opportunity to choose which meal plan they would prefer to use. The first meal plan has its benefits, such as ensuring that students have access and can eat regularly, keeping the younger students connected to campus life, and even preventing ill management of the set amount of money for meals.

On the other hand, the 22+ plan gives older students the option of living a more independent lifestyle. Seniors are seen to be more mature. While the reasons behind these plans make sense, some students, including those under the age of 22, don’t eat in the cafeteria every day; they might not eat three meals a day, their schedules don't allow for three meals a day, or the food is not their preference, which means they cook themselves or eat out. Additionally, along with not eating in the cafeteria every day, some students might just want the cheaper option instead of being required to get the more expensive plan. Already, tuition is expensive, so being able to choose their meal plan may benefit students.

Even if students will never be able to choose, maybe even lowering the age and credit requirements may be beneficial still. Overall, being able to choose will help students save money, especially if they do not eat every meal in the cafeteria or every day.