There are not enough flex points given to students on the unlimited meal plan.

There are many new things around campus this year that require flex points, including the campus store called Susie’s, the student union and Stars Cafe. Students living on campus are allotted 100 dollars in flex each semester in addition to unlimited access to Stamper Commons.

Given these new places to use flex points, unlimited should mean unlimited, or at least 500, instead of the 100 we are currently allotted.

A freshman interviewed about the meal plan said that 100 points is doable, but it does mean not using the new establishments, saying she ran out of points after all the events the first six weeks of school.

Even without outside food services, Papa John’s & Hot Box Cookies, 100 flex points are easy to go through.

Buying items from Susie’s and Stars Cafe is not always an option because it can cost half the total flex points available for that semester. I have used money from my pocket to pay for what I need for my classes, even though I planned to use my points for these purchases.

For students with the unlimited meal plan, Stamper is paid for in advanced. Students must scan our cards to eat. At the student union, we must use flex points for the same food we could take from Stamper, but at a significant markup.

The same freshman said that she paid $1.50 for chips at the Student Union. She emphasized the cost, saying they don’t fill the chips up to the top and that she could have bought them for only 89 cents at the store.

Many students do not go to the Student Union because if they get thirsty or hungry, they have to use flex points they do not have to spare.

Many students appreciate the efforts made to make life on campus better, but they feel that a real change would be giving them choices beyond the food available at Stamper.

Students are not discontent but do feel that the entire meal plan system should be re-examined.