Monday, October 27, 1997
Residents’ meal-coupon values are cut
SERVICES: ORL attributes lower per-meal prices to reduction, but
annual fees have risen
By Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Contributor
Surprise – that dorm meal coupon isn’t worth as much as it was
last week.
Because of cost-saving techniques implemented at the residence
halls, meal coupons issued by front-desk employees are now valued
slightly less than they were.
Lunch coupons are now worth $1.85, and dinner coupons $1.90,
which is 5 cents and 10 cents less than their previous values,
respectively.
The coupons are worth less because the Office of Residential
Life has found a cheaper way to feed dorm residents. But instead of
passing on the savings to residents, ORL fees for housing and meal
plans have actually increased this year.
"A number of reasons contributed to the increase in fees, from
construction to general inflation," said Jack Gibbons, associate
director of residential life.
Students who reside in the residence halls were informed of this
change by way of a half-page letter explaining the situation, which
was handed out at the front desks beginning last Thursday.
"The value of meal coupons has always been based upon the
average food cost per meal," the letter said.
Before the change, ORL valued lunch and dinner coupons at $1.55
and $1.60, and the student union added a 30-cent subsidy to the
reach the total value.
ASUCLA will not be raising the amount of its subsidy.
"I’d love to raise the amount, but right now, financially, we
just can’t afford to," said
ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia Eastman.
The coupons’ devaluation is a result of changes made in the
residence halls, designed to make operations more efficient.
According to the letter given to students, costs were cut "by
implementing several programs, including a central bakery and our
new concept at the Rieber Hall dining facility."
The less the meals cost, though, the lower their value, and the
value of meal coupons decreased accordingly.
Although ORL has said that the average cost per meal has gone
down, the cost of living in the residence halls still increased
this year.
Because of the nature of the charges levied on students, it is
impossible to tell the value of a meal from the fees for living
on-campus.
The price difference between the 11-meal per week plan and the
14-meal plan is $150, yet the difference between the 14-meal and
the 19-meal plans is only $100.
But the changes in coupon values will not only affect the
average student meal. The devaluation has also led to a fight
between the ORL, who issues the coupons and ASUCLA, who redeems
them.
The decrease in value for the meal vouchers was supposed to take
effect at the beginning of fall quarter, but because of a
communication breakdown, ASUCLA food-service employees have been
giving students credit for the previous value of the coupons.
Currently, there is disagreement between ORL and ASUCLA over who
is responsible for the lost revenue.
When ASUCLA gave the bill for meal coupons used so far this year
to ORL’s Business and Finance Department, it refused to pay the
entire amount, claiming that the miscommunication was the fault of
the students’ association.
Apparently, a fax was sent from the residence halls to an ASUCLA
employee who no longer works there, and who failed to pass the
information along to his superiors.
"I first heard of the change (on Tuesday)," Eastman said. "And
the individuals on the board (of directors) did not know of the
change until recently, either."
However, ORL did not take any steps to notify students of the
decrease in meal-coupon value until it was discovered that ASUCLA
had been crediting them at the original amount.
ORL wants the association to cover the shortfall in the
meal-coupon bill, which is nearly $12,000.
The bottom line is that students are paying more than before but
have had their meal coupons devalued.
ASUCLA food-service employees will now begin crediting meal
coupons at the new value.
With reports from Stefanie Wong, Daily Bruin Staff.