Lunch plan offered to High Rise diners

Dining Services approved a plan last Monday allowing juniors and seniors living in the High Rises next academic year to receive the commuter plan -- five lunches a week only. Prior to this proposal, only students living off campus have been able to receive the five-lunch plan for $926 a year. But next year Dining Services plans to open the option to a number of students in the High Rises in order to test the new policy. Students living on campus have been able to purchase the five meals a week plan for $1,488 a year, but they have been ineligible for the five-lunch plan. William Canney, director of Dining Services, said yesterday that he hopes the plan will allow students a convenient opportunity to eat lunch with their friends. Canney said the High Rises were targeted because they have kitchens in their rooms and students who live there cook most of their own dinners and want only a lunch plan. "In the past few years since the commuter plan began I've had requests from the High Rises whether it would be possible to give them the five-lunch year plan," he said. But after analyzing the results of a survey distributed by the Undergaduate Assembly in January, Canney realized that there was enough interest to proceed with expansion of the five-lunch plan. "This plan is a response to continued customer requests," Canney said. "There has been more demand recently." Canney said he has worked closely with the UA in order to implement the changes. College senior Eric Palace, the chairman of the residential living and dining committee of the UA, said he has been meeting with Canney "bi-weekly" for two years. "My original goal was for everyone except freshmen to be able to get [the five-lunch plan]," Palace said yesterday. "But it was only feasible for juniors and seniors. But this is only a building block. [Canney] was working with his budget, and I was working for the students' needs, and we finally worked it out." Palace said the UA distributed a total of 700 surveys to all the dormitories, noting that students in the High Rises were most receptive to the new ideas. According to the results of the surveys, a majority of students expressed interest in the five-lunch plan for High Rise residents. Although only 46 percent of the students said they would be willing to pay the $6 cost per lunch under the plan, 60 percent of these students said they have the ability to pay the $6 charge. Palace added that he and Canney have collaborated on a number of changes in dining services. "When I meet with [Canney] I tell him what students think is wrong," he said. "The potato bar, nutritional boards, and deli at dinner once a month were the results of our meetings. [The five-lunch plan for High Rises residents] was one of our long-term goals." Canney said yesterday he can foresee only two potential problems -- financial difficulties if too many students opt for the plan and longer lunch lines from having extra students on the five-lunch plan. "The factor that has to be considered is that lunch is our most popular meal," Channey said. "On the other hand, that's our meal where we have the longest lines. I have to be careful how this is implemented related to the flow of lines." "Customers are truly on a fast track at lunch and must be able to get to class in an adequate amount of time," he added. "We have to deal with the time constraints at lunch because the classes break at certain times." Lucilla Maurer, contract coordinator for Dining Services, said the length of lunch lines might increase in the beginning of the semester, but she added that after the first few weeks students usually "find out when the best time" to eat is. Students said yesterday they believe the expanded plan is a good idea. Some not currently on meal plan also said they would consider paying for the new five-lunch plan. "I went off meal plan for the second semester because I was dissatisfied with the meal plan, but this five-lunch plan sounds like a more practical plan to me," College sophomore Ira Lapp said. "I always considered the lunches better than the dinners. I will definitely look into the possibility of [buying this plan]. I think Dining Service is taking a step in the right direction."

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