After approximately 90 minutes of debate, the Student Assembly passed a statement criticizing the proposed Dartmouth Dining Services changes Tuesday night.
Statement sponsors Chris Bertrand '07, Corey Chu '08, Dave Hollenberg '09, Ryan Payne '06 and Zak Moore '09 presented the results of recent Assembly surveys in their call to College administrators to alter the proposed changes because they "do not reflect the preferences and interests of the Dartmouth student body."
These surveys showed that 96 percent of students oppose a $100-per-term DBA spending cap at Topside and 72 percent of students oppose the removal of the $705 Mini Green DBA dining plan.
The statement called for DDS to increase the Topside spending cap to $300 and to reduce the newly increased Mini Green plan. It also pled the College to consider subsidizing DDS next year to ease its high labor costs.
Members initially questioned why DDS needed to make any changes at all, but sponsors then revealed that DDS lost $250,000 last year.
"We think they are making the Topside and meal plan changes partly because they are in the red, but also to compensate for the rollover change," Chu said.
Chu added that DDS is owned by the College but run as a separate entity that has to pay its own rent and labor.
This statement sparked debate about why, as a business, DDS does not just adapt to supply and demand.
"Why don't they scale back like any normal business would?" Gus Niles '07 asked.
Others felt that it would be unfeasible for DDS to reduce expenditures.
"There would be a much larger uproar on campus if they said they were closing down the Hop or closing down Collis than there is for saying you have to pay an extra $100," Lee Cooper '09 said.
Jiamie Chen '06 then questioned whether DDS would be able to find non-unionized labor to cut down on costs, but the suggestion was quickly shot down.
"Non-unionized labor means no labor, and no one gets a sandwich," Bertrand said.
Members still expressed frustration over the decision to cap Topside spending at all, but sponsors insisted it would be prudent to just ask for a larger cap because DDS already loses money because of the store.
"They are in the red 30 cents for each dollar spent at Topside. This is why they're trying to curtail Topside spending and push DBA spending to meals in dining halls so that they make more money." Payne said.
Despite continued debate and a suggestion that it be tabled, the statement was eventually passed.
