2008 Woodie Awards
Focus dates could end in 2 yrs.
Nandini Jammi
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
Dining Services Director Colleen Wright-Riva said within the next year she will explore ending focus dates and the All-Campus meal plan, two programs historically unpopular with students.
With fewer than five months on the job, Wright-Riva said she hopes to bring a fresh perspective to meal plan structures, parts of which have been in place for nearly two decades. Although there was no "groundswell of demand" for change, Wright-Riva said it is time to review programs that former Dining Services officials "might not [have been] inclined to change."
Wright-Riva targeted focus dates early in her tenure, saying the program unnecessarily requires students to spend meal points by certain dates throughout the semester. Additionally, Wright-Riva said she still struggles to understand the All-Campus Meal Plan, adding it could be cut because of its complexity.
She said she plans to "review" the current meal plan structures next year and any changes would be made the year after. She plans to consult with Residence Hall Association and Student Government Association committees and will consider surveys, focus groups and one-on-one feedback when generating ideas for possible alternatives, she said.
Focus dates were first introduced in 1989 by disgruntled students who were frustrated that a few students would save meal points until the end of the semester and spend them all at once, Dining Services officials said.
Associate Director of Dining Services Joe Mullineaux said students at the time complained at the end of each semester of slow service and not enough food. He specifically recalled one instance when a group of students ordered 300 sandwiches at once. On another occasion, a girl called him in tears because she couldn't buy a donut, which she considered to be a good luck charm, on the day of a final exam.
Mullineaux was working in the Dining Services department when the plan was implemented, and said officials were indifferent to the policy at the time, only approving it to appease students.
With fewer than five months on the job, Wright-Riva said she hopes to bring a fresh perspective to meal plan structures, parts of which have been in place for nearly two decades. Although there was no "groundswell of demand" for change, Wright-Riva said it is time to review programs that former Dining Services officials "might not [have been] inclined to change."
Wright-Riva targeted focus dates early in her tenure, saying the program unnecessarily requires students to spend meal points by certain dates throughout the semester. Additionally, Wright-Riva said she still struggles to understand the All-Campus Meal Plan, adding it could be cut because of its complexity.
She said she plans to "review" the current meal plan structures next year and any changes would be made the year after. She plans to consult with Residence Hall Association and Student Government Association committees and will consider surveys, focus groups and one-on-one feedback when generating ideas for possible alternatives, she said.
Focus dates were first introduced in 1989 by disgruntled students who were frustrated that a few students would save meal points until the end of the semester and spend them all at once, Dining Services officials said.
Associate Director of Dining Services Joe Mullineaux said students at the time complained at the end of each semester of slow service and not enough food. He specifically recalled one instance when a group of students ordered 300 sandwiches at once. On another occasion, a girl called him in tears because she couldn't buy a donut, which she considered to be a good luck charm, on the day of a final exam.
Mullineaux was working in the Dining Services department when the plan was implemented, and said officials were indifferent to the policy at the time, only approving it to appease students.
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Uncle Rico
posted 4/05/08 @ 2:52 AM EST
So now Dining Service's official position is that they never even wanted focus dates in the first place? Something doesn't add up, because somewhere in Dining Services, somebody has been awfully protective of focus dates for a long, long time. (Continued…)
Louis Wu
posted 4/07/08 @ 3:35 AM EST
they should get rid of the dining plans altogether and have us use Terrapin Express at our own discretion.
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