There
are many changes happening at UW-L this fall: the new basement of Drake
Hall, the parking structure and planning a new student union. Among
them is the new dining service- Sodexo. But the changes Sodexo has made
are not going over well with the students.
Sodexo
took over as UW-L’s meal provider last July. Sodexo is a nutritional
and financial advantage to the university, said Chancellor Joe Gow in an
interview last spring. UW-L has also hired a new
nutritionist. However, the uproar around campus suggests the new option
unfavorable and a financial disadvantage to the students.
Alongside
the food service switch, meal plan options have also been changed. For
on campus options, excluding Reuter Hall, students can choose the 14 or
19 Basic, or 14 or 19 plus which includes 30 block meals to be used
anywhere. These plans range from $1,230 (14 Basic) to $1,396 (19 Plus). The
Reuter Block Plan costs $620 for 75 meals per semester. Off Campus
Block plan includes 50 meals for $345. No meals left at the end of the
semester will transfer to Spring. While there hasn’t been a huge change
in the logistics of the meal plans, students have expressed that the
problem lies beyond that.
Students
are unhappy. Lexie Krueger, a freshman with the 19 basic said “I eat
all my meals mostly at Whitney. Breakfast is usually good, but there is
never enough variety for lunch and dinner.” With the removal of the
‘DIY’ salad, pasta and stir fry bars, variety in Whitney factors largely
into the concerns of many students. Many off
campus students feel they are paying too much for the options they are
provided. “I feel ripped off,” senior Cassidy Flannery is of the
majority. Cartwright choices include only food options under $4.88, but
students are technically paying $7.00 per meal. For example, students
with any block plan can choose a sub from Erbert’s and Gerbert’s, but it
must be “Classic” sub costing $4.45. Sophomore, Mike Rastas said “the
new meal plan has nowhere near the amount of choices students had last
year. The food quality has gone down and students are paying an
excessive amount of money for it all.”
UW-L
students have not stopped talking about the new meal plan. Many
students are so upset they have returned their meal plans entirely. “It
just wasn’t worth it,” said senior Lindsay Gall.
More information can be found at www.uwlaxdining.com.
Questions, comments or concerns can be directed to (608) 785-8891 or emailed to uwlcardoffice@uwlax.edu.
