For those living in the residence halls, it's easy to pay housing and dining fees, then follow the meal plan and forget entirely about the more than $4,000 it costs to eat on campus. At first, the $7 hamburger and $3 side dish prices feel unfair, but students get used to the cost because it seems as if no real money is involved. And when they're not hungry, most students don't think twice about skipping a meal or two.
But there is real money involved - and lots of it.
Every time a meal is missed, some of that money is deposited in a surplus fund - which currently holds $44.5 million.
Students and parents paid their fees expecting the money would be applied directly to the housing and dining facilities students use for the year. Instead, millions of dollars are sitting in an account the university can spend on nearly anything it wants because only a few people know about it - let alone the amount of money it holds.
All of a sudden, that little card swipe seems a lot more important.
Fortunately, the university has used the money in the surplus fund to repair and construct campus buildings, meaning students are the ones seeing most of the benefits of the account so far.
The problem is, there is no regulation of the fund because people in Dining Service don't seem to have a lot of control over the account and most of the people paying for it don't even know it exists. The university has a responsibility to be open and clear about what money it's bringing in and where the money ends up - especially when it's $44.5 million of student money sitting in a stockpile.
The second problem is the way the university is using that money. Currently, the account is helping fund several housing projects. But perhaps more of it could be used for dining-specific projects - like addressing those complaints students pose every year.
Some of the money could be earmarked for employee wages to increase hours at certain dining halls or used to offset some of the exorbitant food prices. Also, students ask every year for improved options and lower costs for healthy foods, so spending some of this money to bring better health foods to campus would directly address student needs. And it might sound crazy, but the university could even consider refunding some of the money at the end of each semester according to how many meals a student missed. Just because the money came from students doesn't mean it should be free for the university's taking.
But no matter what the solution, there needs to be a standard plan for the account to clearly benefit the students funding it. The university must keep a closer eye on these funds, be consistent with its spending from the account, allow students to have some say in where the money goes and increase awareness of the account itself.
With more disclosure and better regulation of this fund, it could truly be an asset to Housing and Residence Life. But at the moment, it's just another way for students to feel screwed over by this university.
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