The transition into college is very hard, and students are very vulnerable to stress because of their new environment, which could be miles from home. Going into school, universities say that they are making things easy on the new students, by requiring meal plans to be built into the overall tuition bill. One would argue that this does put less stress on the students by not having them go and buy groceries off campus, however, there are more negatives to meal plans than positives. Freshman students are left with no other options because they are required to pay this fee, and it would be an additional waste of money to go out and buy more meals, especially if the required dorms do not have a kitchen or do not allow appliances. When considering the plentiful issues that come to required meal plans, one can see that this is not the best option for students, and they should be able to make a choice to see if eating on campus is right for them.

As a student at The University of South Carolina, I have seen first hand what a meal plan can do to people. The college tries to control what times people eat, by limiting them to fast food, and giving them a very minimal cost for what they can spend on each meal. Since being here, I have felt the need to go to the nutritionist that is provided to me free by the university, and her and I talked about how much we do not agree with the meal plan. It was very hard my first semester, because I did as much as I could to save money, but being limited to $5.30 for breakfast and $7.15 for dinner was just not cutting it. In the morning, I could not get orange juice, fruit, and a bagel with cream cheese, because it would go over that $5.30. I know that the university wants to prevent students from gaining weight, but how do they expect a 270 pound athlete to eat the amount of calories they should a day if a 90 pound girl can’t? 

 College is a huge transition period in most people’s lives and eating habits are important aspects that have been taught to children and teeneagers while they are growing up, in health class and at home. This is not something new. Universities are clearly taking advantage of being in control of students, so they do not think about when doing business with food companies, because making profit is more important than keeping students as healthy as can be, right?! This affects me and my values because growing up, my parents forced me eat three healthy meals a day, with the exception of eating out once a week and a dessert if I finished my entire dinner. I understand why schools would want to promote eating healthy too, but coming into college, the only options I had were Burgers, Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Einstein’s Bagels. Even the hot line in the dining halls are frozen food. If they are requiring students to purchase this meal plan, shouldn’t they provide healthy options?  My personal experience with all of the unhealthy food has definitely been taking bites of the food and not wanting to eat anymore, unable to gain weight, and finally going to the nutritionist. The first semester of college is a transition period of being on your own, and having good support systems and places to go is necessary. Some things that I like to do with my friends is go out to eat and talk. Whenever I get turned down food because I already used a meal swipe even though I have 5 left for the week, how is that fair? Did my mom teach me to eat healthy for nothing, or are universities taking advantage of me and the $3000 I am forced to pay for meals each semester?

Many schools require students living on campus to sign up for a meal plan. These prices not only pay for the food, but help defray the college’s costs of running dining halls on campus, and all students share these costs regardless of whether they use the dining halls. This article explains that meal plans are convenient to have for students who live on campus. It states  “A student’s food costs are wrapped into each semester’s tuition bill, allowing them to focus on academics and college activities rather than finding the money for each meal.” This shows that the student doesn't have to stress, which is very true. Landes also states that “There may be rules against keeping appliances in dorm rooms, and you may not have access to a refrigerator and a microwave.”  The authors primary audience is those who need to be informed on college meal plans (parents, incoming students, etc.) Multiple viewpoints are shown, and it shows how meal plans are convenient, but it also shows how schools take advantage of the fact it is mandatory.

Especially at certain universities, while you are required to purchase a meal plan as a freshman, you are only allowed to get certain meal swipes between certain times, and there are no rollovers. Those in charge say that they do this to limit the students and accustom them to their new college lifestyle while being healthy, but in all reality this can affect their weights. In addition, the food options are not healthy, and there are limited options to getting actual healthy food, such as food, vegetables, and protein. Most universities use the company, Sodexo, to get their food. Sodexo is not healthy. They are a mass produced food service company with great marketing. The food may sound healthy, but it is heavily processed and high in carbohydrates, fat, and chemicals. For example, the food options in the a main dining center could include Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, various pizza places: Pandinis and Pizza Hut , various burger places: Ball Park Grill and Veggie Burger, a hot line,  and various dessert places: Marble Slab and Great American Cookie (University of South Carolina, 2016). These places are not healthy at all and are a huge majority of the dining places on campus. It is also impossible to eat healthy on campus, because everything healthier costs more. Even if you know the lunch menu, what’s actually in the school lunches may be a mystery. Being limited to what you can eat by price is cruel to those who just want a healthy snack such as fruit, yogurt, etc. 

Overall, meal plans at universities are very controversial for several reasons. They seem to have good intentions when it comes to feeding the students who have no way of transportation outside of the college campus, but it seems to be just a business in taking money from students that are required to buy a meal plan, even though they might not want one. 