By the end of the week, a meal swipe from the Hill will be worth $2.45 at any Associated Students UCLA eatery or $2.15 at any on-campus franchise restaurant.
While this value is still low despite the much-needed 30-cent increase, this board is pleased to see improvements being made to a potentially useful service to students. Students can trade in a meal swipe on the Hill for a meal coupon to be used at any on-campus restaurant.
Though under-used, this service presents an opportunity for students who spend all day on campus to make use of an obligatory meal plan that doesn’t always cater to odd schedules, or to those who simply can’t make it back to the dorms in time for lunch.
However, the current value of the coupon serves as more of a discount than a replacement, thus requiring students to essentially pay twice to eat once. We pay once for the meal plan and again for the leftover cost from a meal coupon.
UCLA Dining pays approximately $2 for each swipe, yet the same lunch would cost a student $7 with a BruinCard. While the monetary value of a meal coupon is higher than this $2 average per meal, the meals themselves are not equal and students are obligated to fill the gap themselves while on campus.
This board appreciates the attempts of both ASUCLA and Dining to create a convenient program for students, as each body pays for a portion of the coupon value. ASUCLA contributes 30 cents for coupons used at franchise restaurants and 60 cents for those used at its own eateries. Next week, Dining will increase its contribution to $1.85 for any meal.
However, as both bodies exist solely to serve students, more efforts should be made to ensure the quality and practicality of the services provided. Finding a solution is not easy. Someone will have to compromise, but it shouldn’t be students.
Value aside, the coupons are only available on the Hill. Many students do not have the foresight to request a coupon at the start of their day, and cannot request multiple coupons at one time.
An automated coupon system on campus could increase the convenience of this service, and ASUCLA has offered to donate $1,000 for the installation of BruinCard machines next year.
If additional increases to coupons are impossible, as both bodies have their own budgets to maintain, alternative options for making a meal plan useful on campus should be made available.
This board is aware that improving this service is not a priority for anyone aside from the students who wish to use it. However, adjustments should be made so meal plans, obligatory for students on the Hill, are convenient and cater to all schedules.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.