A non-refundable $800 meal plan is unfair, unaffordable and inexcusable, and students should be up in arms against the proposal. Director of Dartmouth Dining Services Pete Napolitano has stated that DDS may require all students to pay a minimum of $800 per term to maintain quality and service. What other business has the luxury of forcing people to be their customers (DarTalk?)? In the real world, quality and service are incentive enough to attract customers. The DDS plan is extortion.
In the competition for students' food dollar, DDS has every conceivable advantage: an on-campus monopoly, giant, centrally-located space, federally-subsidized student labor, bulk-purchasing power and the convenience of Dash cards. But DDS continues to hemorrhage, in part, because the management has forgotten their customers. Hanover restaurants pay attention to what students want. DDS ignores them.
The renovation and restructuring of food services last year was so illogical that no one but DDS management thought it would work. Students responded with protest or laughter. DDS removed the Collis Salad Bar and sandwiches despite a survey which showed that 300 of 500 respondents wanted Collis to remain unchanged. When DDS announced Full Fare would be replaced by the chicken-themed Westside Buffet, then-Full Fare Manager Peter Shanahan told The Dartmouth, "I have overheard many comments concerning the future of Full Fare. None of them have been positive." DDS proceeded with the plan. Shanahan and the manager of the Lone Pine Tavern resigned. Does it surprise anyone that this business loses $400,000 a year?
A non-refundable $800 meal plan is fair to no one, but women and light eaters will be hit the hardest. Many people spend much less than $800 for food each term, and such a minimum could magnify the difficulties of students coping with eating disorders.
It is unfortunate that DDS has been unable to compete with local businesses. As College Treasurer Lyn Hutton decides how the bail-out will proceed, she should consider one fact: Any decision made without student input will fail. Give students voting rights on a committee to determine DDS's future. Hold a school-wide survey or referendum. Stop ignoring your customers.
Last year's "roundtable discussions" to solicit student opinion were a nice gesture. But the College needs to learn to put students at the head of the table.
