A mandatory meal plan for freshman has been discussed among administration and student leaders for months, but the proposal will not be voted on by regents anytime soon because of student concerns.
The Arizona Board of Regents, who would decide if the UA would have such a policy, will vote on a mandatory meal plan for Arizona State University today to begin in 2006 after ASU student leaders voiced their overwhelming support.
Northern Arizona University began a mandatory meal plan for freshman last August.
However, Alistair Chapman, Associated Students of the University of Arizona president, said when regents vote on agenda items each session, they take into consideration the amount of student support, which the UA does not yet have.
Dan Adams, director of the Student Union Memorial Center, who wrote the proposal with hopes that someday it will be implemented at the UA, has communicated with various student groups to gain input on whether it could work for the UA community.
"We don't want to just drop this on students," Adams said.
Adams said the proposal would tack on about $1,900 to $2,100 to a student's freshman year tuition if they live in a residence hall, providing at least five meals per week, a lump sum that would work like a debit card and maybe off-campus dining options.
"It's not a new fee," Adams said. "Students are going to spend money on food anyway."
Through research, Adams said he found UA freshmen spend an average of $1,900 per year on food.
The student unions receive about 4 percent funding from the university, which mean operational costs to keep the food courts and restaurants running depend heavily on the students, he said.
Adams said with some sort of minimum meal plan, the unions would be guaranteed revenue to enhance or build new facilities and avoid borrowing funds from other UA services.
The student union had to borrow money from Residence Life to finish the Highland Market, at East Sixth Street and North Highland Avenue, which was completed in October, Adams said.
With guaranteed base revenue coming in from a mandatory meal plan, each year the unions could build more food courts and restaurants and not worry about how to pay for it, Adams said.
However, when Adams presented the proposal to the UA's Residence Hall Association last month, leaders voted almost unanimously to not collectively support it.
Adams said since he did not receive support from RHA last month, he would continue to reorganize the logistics of the proposal because he wants students to benefit from it.
Student regent Ben Graff said student input and involvement is crucial to ensure students are being adequately represented.
"This is not a sneak attack," Graff said last semester. "It will not be accomplished without student involvement."
The workings of the proposal began a few years ago when Adams hired a company to survey parents of freshman and sophomores. The survey showed parents were generally looking for a mandatory on-campus dining plan, which was how the proposal started.
The survey concluded 76 percent wanted their son or daughter to eat meals on campus. In addition, the survey found 98 percent of parents thought students should have healthy meal options.
"Parents want to know students are eating well," Adams said.
RHA, ASUA, the dean of students and the president's Cabinet have seen Adams' presentation and given suggestions of what they thinks students want, he said.
"Each time I meet with RHA and ASUA, (the proposal) gets a little tighter and everyone sees it evolving," Adams said.
Adams has worked with ASUA leaders, who have not yet announced whether they support the proposal because Adams is still working on a final proposal, Chapman said.
Without full support from UA student groups, it is unlikely regents would vote in favor of the proposal, Chapman said.
Chapman said just because NAU has a mandatory meal plan and ASU could have one for 2006, does not mean the UA is soon to follow.
"Their campus dynamics are different than ours," Chapman said.
Chapman said the proposal appealed to student leaders at ASU because they were promised that some money would go towards a tutoring program and a learning center.
"Each campus has different needs," Chapman said.
Although a meal plan for the UA is not on the regents' agenda today, it could be voted on within the next year and begin in fall 2006, Adams said.
In the meantime, Adams said he is working on re-evaluating areas of concern, such as food allergies and students who already have a meal plan with their fraternity or sorority.
Vanessa Cruz, a pre-nursing freshman, said a mandatory meal plan would not work for freshman because it would limit their options.
Cruz said she only dines on-campus about twice a week, which would not be enough get her money's worth if she had a mandatory meal plan.
Ruby Williams, a psychology freshman, said the proposal could work for the students who run out of food money halfway through the semester.
However, Williams said food options on campus are limited, and it is easy to get tired of eating at the same places.
"It's good when you first come, but then it starts to lose its taste," Williams said.