Memorandom

MEMORANDUM:

Problem:

A first-year student residing on UCA campus is required to choose a meal plan that includes a certain number of meals in the cafeteria. The available choices are: 19 meals a week without DCB, 15 meals a week with $30 DCB, or 10 meals a week with $50 DCB. All of those plans are $930 a semester; I chose the plan with 15 meals a week. The cafeteria has a certain time allotted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner--if you don't eat the meal in that set time range, you will lose that meal for the day. A UCA student is paying money in order to have the choice of when they want to or when they are able to eat. I have morning classes that prevent me from eating breakfast because the breakfast hours end at 11:00. Also, many students do not enjoy waking up early in the morning when they finally have the opportunity to sleep in. I find it unfair that students are not able to eat at a time that they want to when it is the students that are paying for the meal plan. Another example--if a student eats a meal at 11:00 and they decide they are hungry again at 3:00, the student will not be able to eat that meal. They must wait until after 4:00 for the dinner hours to begin. The meals that a student pays for should be able to be used anytime from when the cafeteria opens, until closing time.

Proposed Solution

Freshman students should be able to choose their own meal plan at the beginning of each semester. They should not be forced to eat a meal at a certain time of day but instead be able to choose when they eat their meal. If they want to eat a meal at 12:00 and decide they are hungry again around 2:00, they should be able to go to the cafeteria and eat their meal. Also, they should make it possible for students to decide if they want to eat in the cafeteria or the student center. Students often get tired of eating cafeteria food and want something different. If the student is paying $930.00 per semester for the meal plan, they should be able to choose where they eat their meals.

Justification

Students should be able to choose a meal plan that fits best with their schedule. Many students are unable to eat in the cafeteria during the allotted times of the day because of their class or work schedule. A student may only be able to eat dinner at 3:00 because they have to work at 4:00. If the student has already had their lunch meal at 11:00, the student would not be able to use their dinner meal. Since a student is paying close to $1000.00 per semester for a meal plan, they