A university official has proposed a new meal plan recommendation that would provide unlimited meals and extended hours in all residence hall dining rooms.
The Residence Halls Association, or RHA, gave Bruce Haskell, coordinator of Food Services, verbal support at the group's Wednesday meeting.
The recommendation is a drastic change from students' current options, Haskell said. In the new plan, dining halls would be open from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week — which includes dinner on Sundays — and the base meal plan would allow unlimited meals for all students. The plan is expected to be in place by the 2007-08 school year.
"This is a plan we've been developing to meet student requests and student needs," Haskell said.
Meal plans would increase in price and options, ranging from additional guest meals to Sparty cash.
"It'd be more convenient," marketing freshman Christine Tepatti said.
If taken into effect, the lowest option with the new meal plan would cost about 5.25 percent more than the current unlimited option — which amounts to about $100 more each semester.
Residents' current unlimited meal plan is $1,870 each semester.
Haskell said although transitioning into the new meal plans would be costly for university housing, the increased cost in meal plans would take care of that.
Students addressed some issues at the meeting, including the rise in costs for the new plan and the possible removal of Totally Takeout options.
"I don't necessarily like it," Arts & Letters general freshman Channing Landreth said. "It doesn't offer economically stable options."
RHA will officially show its support when one of the group's committees creates a bill that will be voted on in about two weeks.
Although Haskell has only verbal support from RHA, he said he's ready to keep moving forward with the plan.
"I believe I got a strong enough conditional support to take it forward," Haskell said.
Haskell said he will now recommend the plan to Fred Poston, vice president of finance and operations, for consideration.
