The Dining Dollar Debacle

The Dining Dollar Debacle

Maddie Gill, Managing Editor

Should students be allowed more dining dollars in their meal plans? Or should the prices of food be lower on campus? These are questions I ask myself every time I step foot in Konover to see a small, travel sized bottle of coffee creamer being sold for nearly 7 dollars. When I complain about this, many of my peers just tell me to go to a grocery store off campus to buy what I need. But I see dining dollars as a whole separate bank account. Why spend my real money when I could use my meal plan? But paying for convenience just isn’t fair. What if some students can’t leave campus because they don’t have a car? Or what if for financial reasons, the groceries at Konover are a person’s only option? I understand prices for things across the country have been raised due to inflation, but there is no way that this plays a role in the pricing on campus. How is it that meals from GSU are normally priced but the ingredients sold separately are not? I grapple with confusion and frustration on the daily when I swipe my student ID and watch my balance decline drastically.