The Dining Commons
When you first enter one of the four dining commons at UC Davis, you might stand in awe at the amount of food in front of you. A few months later, the quantity will become less impressive and soon you will notice the lack of quality. You will find that microwaveable TV dinners taste better. The soup there will have you begging for instant noodles. At least this is all you can eat for pretty cheap, right?
Unfortunately, that is not the case. If you look at the page for Residence Hall Fees, you will notice that they only provide enough information to calculate the cost of the second 90 “swipes.” With some math, you should come to the conclusion that the second ninety swipes cost about $2.32 (hey, that’s pretty close to how much you get in Y2Blue funds at the end of the year, $2.25 per swipe). Sounds good right? Well, why are they hiding the cost of the rest of the swipes? If you browse around Davis Wiki enough, you will find that the first 90 swipes may cost more than $8 each. One of the more reliable sources detailing this happens to be the school paper (The California Aggie) which unfortunately had a problem with its archives (click here for a scan of the article).
To be nice, let’s say that you bought 180 swipes this quarter. This will average out to about $5.16 per swipe assuming we used $8 for the cost of the first 90 swipes. Alright, that is still a pretty good deal, five bucks for all you can eat (assuming you buy the largest meal plan). Now take into account the quality of food and the fact that the Dining Commons gets at least 6,000 students purchasing at least 90 meals each quarter in advance and see if the price still seems fair. Other restaurants in the area do not have the advantages of being a monopoly. They do not have the ability to force people to prepay for certain number of meals nor are they guaranteed a certain number of customers. Yet, there are plenty of restaurants in Davis that charge less than eight dollars for an all-you-can-eat-meal and still make a profit, and most of these restaurants are much smaller compared to the company that runs the Dining Commons, Sodexo.
At first glance, Sodexo might seem like a benevolent corporation. By looking at the Dining Commons, you see that they promote sustainability, organic foods, and anything else that a compassionate person might find acceptable. A little research online will reveal that they are not nice at all. The company has had countless problems with hygiene while providing their services to hospitals, prisons, and schools. The film, Super Size Me, called out Sodexo for their policies on child nutrition. Many students at other schools have even boycotted Sodexo. Still like Sodexo?
In order to better serve students, the University should get rid of the minimum of 90 meals per quarter and get rid of the ambiguity surrounding the cost of a swipe. Students with the help of their parents should be able to figure out whether they will be able to responsibly feed themselves. If not, the parents have the option of purchasing a meal plan.