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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

University Considers 3-Year Meal Plan Requirement

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

The university is considering mandating a third-year meal plan, according to a press release issued today by the Georgetown University Student Association.

GUSA President Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) and Vice President Omika Jikaria (SFS ’15) expressed their opposition to the plan, which adds an additional year of required meal plans.

“The university is adding additional requirements to the student body that students did not anticipate upon making their decision to attend Georgetown,” Tezel said in the press release. “The university would be taking advantage of students with the implementation of this policy.”

The statement cited concerns with the accompanying tuition increase. Currently, freshmen and sophomores are required to purchase weekly meal plans, which range from $1,958 to $2,519.50. While block plans are advertised as available only to upperclassmen, sophomores who live in apartments may purchase a block option in lieu of a weekly plan to fulfill their requirement.

The press release also described O’Donovan Hall as ill-equipped to take on additional students.

“It is already plagued with long lines, insufficient amount of seating and silverware and there are serious concerns about exceeding capacity under the fire code,” the statement read.

According to GUSA, university administrators are entertaining the proposal without having consulted Leo’s workers, whom they describe as “already overworked.”

The proposal would ostensibly take effect for the Class of 2017, alongside the new three-year on-campus housing requirement.

Jikaria elaborated on specific concerns with the proposed policy.

“Leo’s is already not suitable to the schedule of varsity athletes and does not offer enough options for students needing kosher, gluten-free or other accommodations,” she said in the statement. “Moreover, with all students going to one dining hall on campus, the non-contact directives from Title IX are more complicated to enforce.”

The university was not immediately available for comment. A full story will appear in Friday’s print edition.

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  • J

    Jes JessonOct 10, 2014 at 1:00 am

    Aramark charges upwards of $13 a meal on their smaller meals plans and yet somehow has both less variety and lower quality than a similarly priced full service dining option less than two blocks away (Tombs), and much lower quality and almost double the price of many other food options on M Street. Add in the fact that they force you into meal plans much larger than any ration person would choose to eat and the price per mean goes up to $16-20 easily if you are missing one or two meals per week. I would be more amenable to a third year meal requirement if, and only if, aramark were kicked out and replaced with a credible food service provider that provided lower priced meals of comparable or higher quality.

    As a consumer, I am ideologically opposed to supporting Aramark which has been known to abuse and treat their customers are correctional institutions with sub-human levels of respect and to be thoroughly unapologetic about their actions. Every meal at Leo’s that I am forced to buy is another dollar I am donating to some Aramark lawyer to argue that the presence of human feces in the meal of a felon with no alternative source of food is really ‘not all that bad.’ I find the current meal plan situation morally unconscionable and I would almost certainly refuse to pay for a third year meal plan, challenge the charges though my credit card company and see if Georgetown would dare to kick a competent 4.0 student who pays full tuition out of the school simply on account of refusing to subsidize Aramark slush funds.

    Reply
  • A

    AndrewOct 9, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    Sick of the University making decisions without taking into account student needs and wants. A third-year requirement does nothing more than increase the revenue of the school, placing an unwarranted and unnecessary burden on students with financial difficulties. Outraged.

    Reply
  • S

    SighOct 9, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    I transferred out of Georgetown to a school where the meal plan is optional, but the food is phenomenal. With only two thousand more students than GU, my new university offers five different dining halls on campus, all of which offer different, varying options daily, as well as fresh bagels and pastries.

    While the dining experience at GU did not drive my decision to transfer, I’m sure we all know how horrendous it truly is. Make the GU Exec board eat there three meals a day and see if they’ll still require the three year meal plan. Money drives that school, plain and simple.

    Reply
  • A

    anonOct 9, 2014 at 5:15 am

    first it’s mandatory to live on campus three years and now a three year meal plan? it’s apparent that georgetown administration no longer has the wants of students in mind when they make their decisions. nobody wants to live on campus and nobody wants to eat at fucking Leo’s.

    Reply
  • J

    JeremiahOct 9, 2014 at 12:28 am

    Georgetown should be ashamed of the way that they’ve handled dining on campus. The quality of food is horrendous, the options are scarce, the meal plans are expensive, the staff is overworked, silverware is nearly impossible to find, the lines are huge, meal plan sharing is no longer permitted, and now this.

    GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, PLEASE LISTEN: THIS WANTON DECISION MAY PUSH STUDENTS, ALREADY SICK OF THE WAY THAT GEORGETOWN DINING HAS BEEN ABUSIVELY OPERATING, OVER THE EDGE. IT IS TIME THAT WE STAND UP FOR BETTER QUALITY MEALS AND MORE AUTONOMY. WE NEED TO AFFECT CHANGE, SOMETHING THAT GUSA HAS FAILED TO DO THUS FAR. Something must be done.

    Reply
  • J

    Joe HoyaOct 8, 2014 at 11:39 pm

    WHERE IS THIS PRESS RELEASE

    Reply