Student meal plans must be controlled

I have read two letters in the Exponent this semester concerning the thought that students with meal plans should be able to use the meals any way they want. In both cases, the writers insist that they paid for some number of meals and that the failure to use them is a way for the University to make money off of them. Anyone who agrees with these sentiments has made three wrong assumptions. First, the University and food services are separate entities, so don't try to claim that Purdue is ripping you off. Second, the idea that there is an implied contract concerning your meal plan (as put forth by Andreas Frobese in the Oct. 2 Exponent) is incorrect in that there is a specific written contract. If you did not like the terms, you, or your parents, did not have to sign the contract. If you did not read the contract before it was signed, that's your mistake. So don't whine about the results. Third, food services did not charge you for every meal that you have on your plan. Many years of experience has taught them to expect that a certain number of meals will not be used every week and so they charged you less than what it really costs for each meal. Unfortunately, during this time of major upheaval in the food services here at Purdue, you can expect prices to be a little less stable than usual.

Complaining about things that are wrong or unfair is a good thing, but if you have no idea about why something is done a certain way, then your complaints are just whining and, in some cases, potentially dangerous. Take a little initiative in your education and stop whining.

Richard Hayward

Graduate student

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