One of the most enticing aspects of Merrimack College was its meal plan. I remember attending my tour as a rising Senior in high school heavily impressed with what the school had to offer. As I find myself as a senior once again, I can’t help but feel as if I was persuaded to attend such an expensive school by principles that are no longer in place. During my freshman year at Merrimack College, our dining options seemed endless. Not only did we have more options on campus, but we had the opportunity to use our “Mack Bucks” off campus at several local businesses. This gave students a real say over their nutrition and heavily benefited the businesses as well, in particular the small businesses. The student population responded very well to this partnership Merrimack fostered with these businesses and seemed like a terrific use of our tuition. Unfortunately however, as soon as my Sophomore year rolled around, this partnership had been severed due to “budgeting reasons”. We are now left with very few nutritious options. Although we have multiple locations to get food such as Sparkys, The Den, and Monicas, all these locations seem to serve the same things everyday, and it does not take long to completely exhaust your options. There are even fewer options that accept a “meal swipe” as payment. The same Mack Bucks that cost just as much as they used to when we had more freedom, are now expected to be used towards mediocre food on campus. Not only did the Mack Bucks currency seem to decrease, but they ran out just as quickly as they did prior, leaving students with only meal swipes, resulting in even fewer options. Merrimack College needs to either increase dining options providing more variety, or bring back the prior Mack Buck system.