USAC officer hopes to increase value of meal-swipe vouchers
By Sean Greene
April 20, 2010 9:53 p.m.
CORRECTION: The original headline for this article incorrectly said that ASUCLA is adding value to meal swipes. USAC general representative Thach Nguyen’s office is working to increase the value of the vouchers, but the proposal has not yet been discussed or approved by the ASUCLA Board of Directors. Also, in the past the board has voted twice to add 30 cents to the voucher ““ in 1998 and 2008 ““ bringing ASUCLA’s total contribution to 60 cents.
Students looking to use a swipe between classes just might be able to do so soon, with an Undergraduate Students Association Council’s office looking to increase the value of meal swipe coupons at Ackerman Student Union.
Currently, students who wish to use meal swipes on campus must retrieve a voucher from their residence hall’s front desk to exchange later on campus ““ and even then, the voucher is only worth $2.15, leaving students to pay the difference, said Thach Nguyen, a USAC general representative.
“(A voucher) obviously doesn’t go very far at all … which is why students are not using the service,” Nguyen said. “They don’t want to take money out of their pocket. It’s almost like paying for a meal twice if you think about it.”
While nothing will be decided for several weeks, Associated Students UCLA and UCLA Dining Services, along with Nguyen’s office, have initiated preliminary discussions on a potential increase.
Such talks have occurred intermittently for over a decade.
Nguyen said his effort follows in the footsteps of attempts made in spring 2008 by former USAC internal vice president Dianne Tanjuaquio.
When a student exchanges a meal swipe for a voucher to be used on campus, UCLA Dining Services pays ASUCLA $1.55 for lunch and $1.60 for dinner.
The ASUCLA board voted in 1998 to add 30 cents to the subsidy, then again in February 2008 to add an additional 30 cents, bringing the coupon’s value to $2.15, said Bob Williams, ASUCLA executive director.
When the value increased in February 2008, Tanjuaquio’s office and ASUCLA held an event which doubled the value of meal vouchers for one week.
In that week, the program’s usage by students saw a 1,258 percent increase from the week prior, Nguyen said.
“I think one of the arguments that UCLA Dining always puts forward is that students don’t use the meal coupon program enough to justify extensive advertising programs or making real changes to it,” Tanjuaquio said. “When students see the value of the coupon is worth their time, they’ll overwhelmingly use it.”
The week after, student use continued at an increase of 196 percent, but interest again fizzled by the following fall quarter.
Williams said the program used to see more use among students when there was less variety of food options on the Hill. With Dining Service’s recent expansion of operations, fewer students have used the meal coupons.
Willing to cooperate with Dining Services, Williams said the ASUCLA board supports action that benefits students.
“We’re meeting because I’m hearing students have asked (to change the program) and we’re here to support that program,” Williams said. “Any way we can help we want to be involved.”
According to Housing and Hospitality Services, there have been 419 meal coupons used this year out of dining service’s more than 3 million patrons.
Pete Angelis, director of UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services, said in a statement that he looks forward to meeting with Williams this month to discuss the coupon program for the next year.
“Students are probably going hours from morning to nighttime without eating,” Nguyen said. “My assumption is students go on just snacks all day, which isn’t enough to sustain a student.”
Nguyen’s main goal is to bring visibility to an underused program, he said.
“We really want to do something that has an impact on how students use their meal swipes and how they eat on campus,” he said. “We’re trying to look at this holistically and not just in the meal swipe program.”
