Students question dining policy

Dining services defends single-punch weekends

Sarah Rababy / contributing photographer Junior Hunter Hangar voiced student concerns about double punches on weekends. Clete Myers, director of dining services, said there is no advantage to ARAMARK not permitting this action.

Through meal plans, students are allowed to double punch on Monday-through Thursday after 11 a.m. However, Friday through Sunday, students are not given the option to double punch. This recently has become a controversial issue.

"Out of all the feedback I was receiving this year, students were overwhelmingly frustrated by not being able to double punch on the weekends," said senior Hunter Hanger, Board of Visitors student representative.

"As I began to think about the fairness of this policy, it seemed that Dining Services was making hundreds of thousands of dollars off of unused punches, and I felt it was inequitable," Hanger said.

Hanger received his information from polls he conducted by explaining what the Board of Visitors and asking students if they had any comments or questions. Hanger said he began researching the topic at the end of last year, following his election.

"Double punching has been a part of JMU Dining Services for many years," director of dining services Clete Myers said.

"It was instituted to offer students the opportunity to use a meal that they would have missed due to a class conflict," Myers said.

JMU is the only public university that allows double punches, according to Hanger.

Meal plan pricing is based on the average number of meals that are consumed and by not permitting double punching on the weekends were allowed, the average number of meals consumed would increase, causing the cost of meal plans to increase, Myers said.

Hanger discussed the issue with the Board of Visitors. "It seems like ARAMARK would be making bank off of students not using their services on the week and not getting to use those punches," Hanger said.

"There is no real advantage to ARAMARK by not permitting double punches on the weekend. JMU’s food services operation is a self-funding entity that receives no money from the state. The amount of profit allowed to ARAMARK is limited by the university’s contract agreement with ARAMARK," Myers added.

Sophomore Meghan O’Donnell said, "I feel that since we pay for our meal plans, we should be able to use them to the full extent. I know personally it is hard on the weekends to use both punches because of the time constraint.