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The Rice Thresher
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by LISA GILLUM THRESHER STAFF Meal plans for all on-campus students next semester will include options of 19, 15 or 11 all-you-can-eat meals a week, Food and Housing Director Mark Ditman announced Wednesday. After F&H considered meal plan options for two weeks, Ditman sent the finalized meal plan to the college presidents and food representatives early this week. The options will include provisions for "Tetra Points," another name for the previously proposed "Owl Bucks." Tetra Points are funds that can be spent using an ID card at Willy's Pub, the Coffeehouse, Sammy's, the Campus Store, college dining areas and the proposed Subway and convenience store additions to the Student Center. Guest meals, which range from $5.50 to $8.50, must be paid for in Tetra Points. According to an F&H report describing the new plan, the name for the debit account comes from an ancient Greek coin, the tetradrachma, which featured the Athenian owl on one side. Tetra Points may be purchased in increments of $50 and will roll forward each semester until the student graduates but are not refundable. "The change [from previous meal plan proposals] is due to student contributions," Ditman said. He said he heard from students that they wanted to pay only for what they consume. "This [plan] gives people a sense of participation," Ditman said. The three meal plans cost $1,450 (Plan 19 Plus), $1,390 (Plan 15 Plus) and $1,295 (Plan 11). Costs are per semester. The "Plus" plans include $50 of Tetra Points, and Plan 11 includes the option of opening a Tetra Points account. Plan 19 Plus is required for first-year students and includes every available meal, and the other plans allow a choice of which meals a student eats. Meals available are breakfast, lunch and dinner during weekdays, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and lunch and dinner on Sunday. Off-campus students have one meal plan option, Plan OC 5, which offers five meals a week in the colleges for $600 a semester. The benefit, Ditman said, lies in the fact that the smaller meal plans would actually reflect a measurable decrease in cost, instead of two-thirds of the money going toward a base cost. "I'm in favor of the new meal plan," Brown College Food Representative Daniel Oppenheimer said. "Light eaters will benefit also and not just subsidize heavy eaters." Buying things in bulk and relying less on cashiers will cut costs so that the plan will benefit everyone economically. Ditman still plans to bring a Subway restaurant franchise and a convenience store to Rice. "[The idea for] Subway came because students mentioned it - the choice was beyond a slam dunk," Ditman said. He also said a convenience store would offer students the prepackaged foods they want at much more flexible hours than the college kitchens could allow. Beginning next year, College Food Service will not have prepackaged foods. Ditman said F&H is negotiating for space in the Student Center right now, and that he thinks both stations will generate enough money to pay for themselves once established. He said the convenience store will be able to offer better selection and cheaper prices than what is now available in the college kitchens. "I think we're doing a good thing, and I hope students will support us and realize that we're working for their best interest and not trying to screw them over," Ditman said. He stressed that the new meal plan was a step in the process of improving F&H. "They really wanted this to be what's best for the students," Lovett College President Bryan Hassin said. "[There has been a] pretty tremendous effort on the part of Food and Housing." - back -
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