If students could feel the same sense of ownership over their destinies outside of the classroom, we would go a long way towards solving our school spirit problems. I feel safe saying that the most contentious issue on campus today is dining. Students are upset that prices are so high. It has been said that Wilson Commons resembles less a student union than an airport terminal. The prices in the Pit do very little to eliminate that airport atmosphere.
Students are also upset about the level of service offered in the dining centers.
Aramark, for their part, has been extremely receptive to comments and criticism. Unfortunately, basic economics can explain the problems with price and service. The structures of our dining plans do not allow students to get a refund on the money they do not spend in the dining centers. Rather than see that money vanish to the University at the end of the year, we are forced to consume more than we want in order to salvage any sort of value at all. In fact, it remains more expensive to be on a dining plan than to purchase the same amount of food in the Pit or Douglass on a cash basis.