Many students were surprised and angered when they arrived back on campus to news that their meal plan would be turned away from Chic-Fil-A and Jamba Juice. While it was never the same without Rodney, Jamba and Chic-Fil-A provided students a much needed outlet after a hard day of classes.
The university's response has been less than stellar to say the least. Calling programs' inclusion in meal plans "temporary" does not answer the more important question as to why they were uncerimoniously cut. Also, the fact that the university made the decision during the quiet summer months without any chance for student input does not help relations between students and staff.
There are many things students can stomach a school tinkering with, but food is not one of them. Nearly every AU student was fine using a nine dollar swipe for a six dollar smoothie or a four dollar chicken sandwich. They had already paid for the meal plan and it wasn't coming out of their pocket, like it will have to now.
Now that these two establishments have been eliminated, what is the point of having a meal plan at all? If Housing and Dining thinks students will be happy with just TDR and the Tavern, they are sorely mistaken. The class of 2007 is believed to have cancelled the most meal plans in recent memory, and a continued deficit of options will certainly not help woo students back into TDR, no matter how nice the pictures on the wall are.
