8 struggles of having (and not having) a meal plan

Published by adviser, Author: Janelle Wilson - Asst. Campus Life Editor, Date: April 16, 2015
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1.The Meals

Boozel for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

 

I mean, how many times can you walk from your dorm room to Boozel, only to have the same meal you’ve eaten since you arrived here? I get it, at first it can be appealing to scarf down a burnt Boozel burger for every meal, but that gets old fast, and when it does, you’ll have nowhere to turn to but the pasta bar, which is a solid six on good days. 

Nothing for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

 

It can be easy to remember to eat three meals a day when they are prepaid meals, but when neither your food nor your rent are prepaid for, students will be more inclined to shell out money so that they have somewhere to live, instead of shelling out money to make sure that ramen isn’t their only food group.

2.  Debit Cards

People who use debit cards at Boozel

 

When the line starts to wrap around the dining hall during common hour or breakfast and dinner rushes, you have no time to wait in line for those big-shot non-meal planners to swipe their debit cards, and then wait an additional 10 minutes for it to process through. Why would you spend your cash at Boozel anyway?

Being the person who uses their debit card at Boozel.

 

“Please do not murder me.”

3. Flex Funds

Trying to stretch your flex until the end of the semester.

 

Between $5 drinks from Starbucks, buckets of wings from Quaker Steak and Lube and endless wraps from Rocky’s when you can’t eat one more Boozel burger, your flex can flare up faster than post-Weisenfluh heartburn. Don’t forget to ask your cashier for a balance, you’ve probably only dollars left before you have to begrudgingly haul yourself back to Boozel, praying the whole way that the pasta bar has something good.

Wishing you had Flex to burn

 

If you’re like me, you go through coffee as though it is your lifeblood. Now a non-meal planner, I miss the days when I could swipe away my money with my student ID instead of shelling out my hard-earned cash to consume a venti iced coffee within seconds. Long gone are the days when your coffee was topped with sprinkles and whipped cream, and Frappuccinos filled your Instagram feed.  Who has the cash for that?

4. The Obligation

Being forced to have a meal plan

Isn’t it enough that you’re still living in the dorms after freshman year? What does Resident Life think they are, your parent and/or legal guardian? Being forced to have a meal plan when you’re a legal adult is equivalent to having a bedtime when you move back in with your parents after college. Though college students are usually looking for a quick fix when it comes to food, it’s easier to scarf down granola bars from under your bed than get out of bed and go walk yourself to Boozel.

Not being forced to have a meal plan

While Boozel offers salads and fruit, your stomach (and bank account) prefer instead to fill up on mac and cheese bites (awkwardly raises hand). While the red baskets at Boozel don’t do a body any favors, living off of a diet of Bob’s Subs, Sheetz and MacDonald’s pack on pounds way faster than the Freshman 15. At least you can grab a banana from Boozel and pretend you’re going to eat. Why spend $5 on a salad when you can spend $1 on a McDouble and call it a day? Yeah, I thought so.

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