Category | News

Students find mandatory meal plan hard to swallow

Published on September 30, 2008 by The Sentinel

    News that KSU will introduce a mandatory meal plan in Fall 2009 to
pay for the construction and operation of a dining hall has a number of
students stewing.

 
    Students were notified about the new dining hall and a mandatory meal plan via email on Sept. 19.  The email stated that the meal plan would cost between $400-425 per semester for all full-time undergraduates.

    The news ignited anger and frustration in many students, which led to online protesting and petition drives. Students opposed to the meal plan have created three facebook groups, the largest being “100,000 Strong Against Mandatory Kennesaw Meal Plan,” which had 1,404 members at press time.

    “The reason Kennesaw has been so successful thus far is because of the non-traditional and commuter students, and this meal plan being mandatory is really turning its back on and taking advantage of those students,” said KSU student Jamie Timmerman, the group’s creator.

    Two open forums to discuss the meal plan were held on Monday at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Two more are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2, the first at 10 a.m. in University Room A and the second at 5:45 p.m. in University Rooms CDE.

    “A university of this size definitely needs a dining hall,” said Arlethia Perry-Johnson, special assistant to KSU president Daniel S. Papp, in the first forum Monday morning.

    Perry-Johnson also addressed those unhappy with the meal plan, saying “Let me say this loudly and clearly: you have been heard.”

    “The $400 plan is gone,” said Faye Silverman, director of Auxiliary Services and Programs (ASaP).

    Because KSU Culinary Services is an auxiliary enterprise as defined by the Board of Regents, revenue for the new dining hall cannot come from the state; rather, fees or sales must generate it. KSU students are currently paying $364 per semester in fees for services such as technology and athletics.

    Officials are currently looking at a tiered plan to distribute the mandatory fees based on which groups are most likely to want and use the meal plan.

    Under the current proposed plan, first-year students living in the University Village Suites would pay $960 per semester for eight meals a week. Upperclassmen and first-year students living on campus in units with full kitchens would pay $776 per semester for six meals a week.        

    First-year students who commute would pay $285 per semester for two meals per week and upperclassmen who commute would pay $145 per semester for one meal a week.

    Silverman stressed that these numbers are only models and “are continuing to be played with.”

    The building must be financed by 30-year tax-exempt bonds, meaning that KSU will be paying for the property and major appliances for a period of 30 years.  

      Bond underwriters require proof of a guaranteed revenue stream, such as a meal plan, to secure the financing.

    “The challenge we have is that we have to have the guaranteed revenue stream,” said Silverman.

    “I understand that KSU administrators feel it’s necessary to make the meal plan mandatory for all full-time students so they may pay back the bonds, but they also have 30 years to do so. I feel that if the meal plan was only mandatory for incoming freshmen and students who live on campus without kitchens, with an option for the rest of the students, then they would have more than they need to pay those bonds,” said Timmerman.

    According to KSU Culinary Services, over 6,000 students and parents have participated in surveys, questionnaires, forums, and focus groups regarding the implementation of a dining hall since 2004.

    Groups involved with this research included the Student Government Association (SGA), the Department of Psychology, Residence Life, ASaP, and third-party consultant Support Service Group, LLC.

    KSU’s dining facilities are currently designed to service 5,000 and have seating for approximately 800; over 20,000 students are enrolled at KSU. KSU Culinary Services cited “No room for expansion without impacting the already-strained University Rooms” as a current limitation to dining at KSU.

    “We have to either move forward or start tightening our services,” said Silverman.

    The planned dining hall will be a two-story, 50,000-square-foot building at the center of campus with the ability to seat over 1,000.

    Planned features include a European coffee bar, a deli and soup station, a salad bar, a pizza/pasta station, an Asian Wok station, a 50s-style grille, comfort foods, granary and take-out dining. Special arrangements are also being planned for students with food allergies or religious food restrictions.

    “You’re going to want to come eat and hang out here,” said Gary Coltek, assistant director of ASaP for Culinary Services.

    The dining hall will be open seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and “probably” 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

    The Food Advisory Committee will perform quarterly evaluations of the Culinary Program, and recommendations will go to the President’s Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, the SGA, the University Council and the Cabinet. Adjustments will take effect the following fall semester.

    For more information on the dining hall and meal plan, visit www.kennesaw.edu/dining . Questions and feedback can be sent to culinaryservices@kennesaw.edu .