Say No to Mandatory Meal Plans: Protect Low-Income Students

The Issue

The Student Unions at the University of Arizona is attempting to implement a mandatory meal plan—an effort that would unfairly target low-income students on campus. The Student Union representatives did not communicate with students. Instead, they had President Robbins, the CFO, Lisa Rulney, the Provost, and other executives sign off on the initiative before garnering student support on the issue. This initiative is antithetical to the University of Arizona’s core value of equity. Forcing low-income students to buy into a meal plan they cannot afford forces them to instead look for a cheaper alternative of living off campus, which in turn significantly affects their access to on-campus resources. In addition, the main platform from the Student Unions involved combating food insecurity for low-income students; however, forcing students to buy into a meal plan they cannot afford instead isolates low-income students and puts them in a more dire position of financial instability. The Student Union is hiding behind the veil of a student centric plan to combat food insecurity, when their true intention is to turn a profit on marginalized students. Help us take a stand against this unjust, blasphemous, and ridiculous “advocacy initiative.” It is paramount that we come together to help support low-income students in our Wildcat community. 

Victory
This petition made change with 2,273 supporters!

The Issue

The Student Unions at the University of Arizona is attempting to implement a mandatory meal plan—an effort that would unfairly target low-income students on campus. The Student Union representatives did not communicate with students. Instead, they had President Robbins, the CFO, Lisa Rulney, the Provost, and other executives sign off on the initiative before garnering student support on the issue. This initiative is antithetical to the University of Arizona’s core value of equity. Forcing low-income students to buy into a meal plan they cannot afford forces them to instead look for a cheaper alternative of living off campus, which in turn significantly affects their access to on-campus resources. In addition, the main platform from the Student Unions involved combating food insecurity for low-income students; however, forcing students to buy into a meal plan they cannot afford instead isolates low-income students and puts them in a more dire position of financial instability. The Student Union is hiding behind the veil of a student centric plan to combat food insecurity, when their true intention is to turn a profit on marginalized students. Help us take a stand against this unjust, blasphemous, and ridiculous “advocacy initiative.” It is paramount that we come together to help support low-income students in our Wildcat community. 

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