Changes to the structure of Kosher Dining and subsequent negative reaction from students have led Dining Services officials to reconsider the proposed amendments.
The controversy developed over changes in the way students will pay for kosher meals. In previous years, anyone with a meal plan could eat at Kosher Dining for the cost of a single meal deducted from their plan. However, the kosher options unveiled by Dining in March require those not on a kosher plan to pay an additional "upcharge" of $5 if paying with Dining Dollars or PennCash and $7 if paying with cash or bursar.
The new kosher meal plans dropped the reservation fees necessary for Shabbat, High Holiday and Passover meals, but are more expensive. For example, while other freshman meal plans cost $3,512, the freshman kosher meal plan runs at $3,800 and offers 160 meals per semester.
Dining officials say the changes were made in an attempt to address the higher cost of preparing kosher food and to simplify the previous "Kosher Advantage" system, which could be added on to a meal plan to provide automatic reservations for $225 a year.
However, many students have reacted negatively, expressing that the changes would isolate the Jewish community.
"The new Dining policy will segregate students and undermine the college housing process.... The extra charge is going to keep almost everybody away who's going to come," College sophomore Scott Sokoloff said, explaining that students who do not keep kosher for religious reasons but eat at Kosher Dining might not want to pay the surcharge, and those who keep kosher might be put off by the less social atmosphere.
In response, Sokoloff and other members of the Jewish community started a petition expressing dismay at the new plan. The petition has been signed by more than 500 students since early May, according to Sokoloff.
Officials from Dining and members of Hillel's student executive council have met several times to discuss possible improvements to the plan.
"We're still discussing options.... We think we're close, but we're not done," Dining Services Contract and Relationship Manager Laurie Cousart said, adding that changes to the current plan could be announced as early as next week.
"The biggest concern was that it remains an open place for everyone to eat at," said Hillel Executive Council Treasurer Jason Auerbach, a College junior, adding that Dining officials had been "very accommodating" in meetings thus far.
