the Informer

Senior Copy Chief

With the beginning of the new academic year, it is impossible not to notice all of the changes on campus. The university has been working hard to make improvements on already existing programs and places in order to make campus life better for the students.,With the beginning of the new academic year, it is impossible not to notice all of the changes on campus. The university has been working hard to make improvements on already existing programs and places in order to make campus life better for the students. After all, we spend most of our time on campus during the school year so why shouldn't it be great? This year we will be welcoming a new café setup in Gengras. The long hallway that once connected students from the bank entrance of GSU to the concierge at another major entrance has been utilized to create a larger café area.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the new café looks great. There's plenty of space for the lunch rush so we won't be pushed shoulder to shoulder in order to get a salad; there is a new electronic ordering system at the grill that allows for the customization of all foods ordered there, and there is a completely new station that offers pita wraps and other healthy choices. All in all, the café looks amazing and so does all of the food, nobody is denying that.

One major change, however, is not going over so well with students, and this change will affect your eating patterns, meal plans and general opinion of the Gengras Café.

In order to pay for meals at GSU in the past, students have been able to use a meal plus dining dollars. For example: if a meal is worth $5.25 and I buy a salad for $4.50, a bag of chips for $1.00 and a drink for $1.75, I would be able to use a meal for $5.25 and pay the $2.00 balance with dining dollars or hawk cash. Unfortunately, this option is no longer in play. Now if the balance is worth more than a meal you are required to pay the whole thing in cash, dining dollars, hawk cash or credit/debit; there is no more "meal plus" option.

I learned this fun new fact while waiting for my chicken strips to cook on Monday afternoon and was reminded of it when I had to pay $6.00 instead of using a meal and paying the balance.

As I sat down to eat – without ketchup, because there were no condiments – I heard the outrage from other students around me. Phrases such as "they're robbing us," and "this is ridiculous," and "why should I even bother having a meal plan," could be heard from all sides of the café I made a firm decision to make my visits to get food at GSU brief, if I even go at all.

Senior Sarah Shulman says, "Even though the renovations of Gengras have brought a new gourmet to the cafeteria, I am turned off by the limited amount of meal equivalency options. Because of this, I am disappointed and I will be less likely to eat there on a daily basis."

Shulman's distaste for the new payment criteria seems to envelop a lot of similar feelings from other students who are feeling robbed of their meal plan.

I have always felt that Aramark has overpriced food all over campus since I came to the university three years ago as a freshman. Food at Konover has gradually gotten more expensive, meals at the Gengras Café have become a little more absurd every year and the only good deal for a meal equivalent option – an 8-inch sandwich, chips and a drink at Montague's – is completely gone. I wasn't bothered too much by paying $7.50 for a medium salad when I could pay for it with a meal plus option.

However, now that my already-limited dining dollars must be used to pay for an entire meal if it costs more than a meal equivalent is worth, you will not be seeing me in the salad line or even in the café very often at all.

So, if you are feeling like you're being robbed every time you swipe your Hawk Card at GSU, know that you are not alone.