The President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) recently passed the revamped meal-plan concept proposed by the Student Government Association.
The concept, which was created by SGA last semester, was passed “exactly” as the SGA had requested, said Kathy Humphrey, vice president of Student Development.
“They agreed to all of our requests,” said Adam Meister, SGA president. “Obviously, they can’t give senate the final say in what restaurant comes, but SGA will be included, students will be included in making the decision about which franchises we’re interested in.”
The new plan will go into effect in fall 2005. Each student, including commuters, will be required to buy a $200 meal plan each semester, which provides $150 in flex points for the student. The remaining $50 is a fee that will cover Chartwells’ overhead costs, equalizing meal plan prices to around the $6 they were supposed to be all along.
Under the current plan, five meals runs about $17.07 per meal, eight meals are $12.33, 10 meals are $10.30, and 14 meals are $8.30. The Block plan costs $14.27 per meal.
The $200 plan will generate $400,000 in revenue for the university and will bring two new dining options to campus-one branded food option opening in fall 2005, and a Chartwells operated dining venue opening later.
“The example I made was that every Saturday, a group of my friends get up and drive 20 minutes away to eat Quizno’s,” Meister said. “Well, what if we could capture that kind of population on campus and be able to offer the options they want, so they could find that kind of food here?”
The franchise options are being investigated to see if they fit in with the University budget.
“The meal plan survey that the meal plan committee did would have serious weight on what options were investigated, and so the most popular options that were listed were Mexican and the number-two was chicken,” Meister said. “I think that the meal plan is going to benefit Saint Louis University and the dining experience here.”
The PCC includes the President, Vice Presidents, the heads of the Faculty Senate, Staff Advisory Council and the Student Government Association. It represents all facets of the University community, and it reviews “all major University policy issues” and “makes recommendations on those issues to the President,” said Provost Joe Weixlmann, Ph.D.
