Dorms eliminate ASUCLA meal vouchers

By Toni Dimayuga
Daily Bruin Contributor

When Andrea Chanawatr returned to UCLA this September, she
discovered that she now has to get up a little earlier in the
morning than usual.

Due to an On-Campus Housing decision to do away with the
widely-used meal voucher coupons this year, Chanawatr will have to
make her own lunch rather than rely on a housing-supplemented
ASUCLA lunch.

For the last 20 years, residents unable to return to dorm dining
halls during class could redeem the coupons for food at any
Associated Students eating facility, paying the difference if they
purchased more than the allotted amount.

This year, housing administrators are offering the option to
make one’s own lunch with housing food to replace the coupon
program. Some students have had trouble adjusting to the new
alternative.

"The new system isn’t very convenient because sometimes you
don’t want to get up to go get a (sack) meal," said Chanawatr, a
second-year international economics student. "I thought it worked
out well last year. Getting a sack lunch is more inconvenient than
just picking up a coupon. I don’t want to carry around a sack lunch
on campus," she added.

However, various reasons have put the long-standing program to
rest, said Michael Foraker, director of On-Campus Housing. One
involved students’ concerns that the coupons’ value ­ $1.60
for lunch and $1.70 for dinner ­ was too low.

Another, Foraker continued, was that the program began when only
the 19-meal plan existed. The advent of the 14- and 11-meal plans
reduced the need for coupons, he said.

A third explanation involved the sack meal program, in which
students can make their own sandwiches, along with a choice of
fruits, snacks and beverages.

Foraker added that although it is still too early to tell
whether the sack meal program is a success, he said that so far
there has been positive feedback.

"I believe that giving the sack meal option is better than the
$1.60 (meal coupons)," said third-year psychology student Helen
Choo. She added that packing her own lunch provided more
options.

The coupons’ removal, however, will cause a drastic change in
ASUCLA’s food profits, said Kert Evans, director of Food Services
for ASUCLA. Each year, ASUCLA received 200,000 to 300,000 meal
coupons from students eating on campus.

"The elimination of the resident halls’ meal voucher program
will significantly reduce traffic throughout ASUCLA food facilities
as these customers don’t have the exchange coupon they once had,"
Evans said. "We will generate less sales as a result of this
program being eliminated and we have budgeted to reduce our net
income by approximately $200,000."

News about the meal option change have elicited varying
responses from returning residents. Some believe that the sack
meals are not a viable replacement for the coupons.

"This sucks, okay? If you are trapped on campus at lunchtime,
you don’t have time to go fill up some sack and take it with you,"
said Anita Mesri, a fourth-year political science student. "As if
it wasn’t bad enough that we were only getting a $1.60, now they’ve
taken it away?"

Mesri explained that despite its shortcomings, the meal coupons
allowed one to buy hot food.

"At least you had some choice and you can get something on
campus that’s fresh and hot. If anything, they should have given us
more for our money with the meal coupon," she said.

Some new students who were unaware of the original meal voucher
program said that they believe they are not missing out on
anything.

Different campuses across California each have unique solutions
for students to eat while on campus.

UC Berkeley students can use their meals on any food facility by
swiping their cards on machines, paying the difference. In
addition, their meals, worth $2.50, can be augmented to $3.95 by
paying an extra $250 a year, said Robin Taylor, housing cashiers
supervisor at Berkeley. At Cal State Los Angeles and Fullerton,
dorms are more like apartments, complete with kitchens.

But while Cal State L.A. does not provide a meal plan, Fullerton
students can purchase a $175 coupon book worth $200, available only
during fall semester, said Diana Martin, coordinator of Housing and
Residential Life at Cal State Fullerton