I am a Vanderbilt parent concerned about the requirement of students to purchase 19-21 meals per week on campus.  According to my research, about 85% of Vanderbilt students live on campus, a majority of them are upset by the mandatory meal plan.  The exorbitant (approximately) $6,000 cost of dining on campus that Vanderbilt imposes on virtually all students is unfair and ought to be optional or at the very least provide many more options.

Many students frequently eat meals outside of campus dining or skip breakfast and thus eat far fewer than 19-21 meals on campus each week. The fact that students who live on campus are forced to pay for potentially hundreds of unused meal swipes is exploitative. My student, for instance, only uses 6-8 swipes per week.  So, he/she is losing 13 swipes/$169.00 per week.  That adds up to real money, adding to students’ loans and financial stress.  Vanderbilt is supposed to be teaching students to critically think.  I would hope this would include thinking critically about personal finances, which that is not.  Students deserve the right to spend their money how they wish especially considering all the hardships COVID has inflicted on families.  I believe Vanderbilt should support this change as students and parents are trying to be financially responsible and sustainable as far as food waste goes which heavily contributes to the emissions of greenhouse gases through production, transportation and disposal of wasted food. 

Given the option, most students would opt for plans that are far smaller but some would like even more swipes.  For instance, athletes often run out of swipes and could use a larger meal plan.  Currently, the cost of the meal plan is roughly $39 per day.   Would Vanderbilt administration/staff/etc. pay $39/day for something daily that they weren’t going to use and would later have to pay interest on?  I think the answer to that is a resounding NO!  If I am correct, please don’t make us do it either!

Students who live off campus are allowed to choose a smaller plan, or they can opt out of a dining plan entirely. By providing this option for students who live off campus, Vanderbilt has demonstrated that it has the capacity to allow students to purchase smaller meal plans.

When questioned about providing a smaller meal plan Vanderbilt’s dietician said, “Unfortunately there is no flexibility in the meal requirement. All students living on campus must have a meal plan. This is not determined by me or by campus dining but by the residential college model put in place by the university. Dining in our residential dining halls offer a sense of community and convenience for our students.” 

 By saying, there is no flexibility in the meal plan requirements because this is something put in place by the university when the residential college model was first adopted only shows a lack of concern and flexibility on Vanderbilt’s part to recognize students/parents’ issues that have come up since the adoption of the RCM. 

 I would say, ask a Vanderbilt student if the dining hall offers convenience and a sense of community?  Most will tell you it requires a lot of time to eat in the dining halls which only encourages less swipes, wasted food, and of course wasted money.  I would not call that particularly convenient or cost effective for students. 

Vanderbilt could still require that all students have at least some meal swipes, perhaps the 6-8 swipes that they know most students use.  The argument that requiring students to pay such a high cost for meals that they do not fully use is necessary in order to build strong communities does not outweigh the exploitative and burdensome nature of the $6,000.00 price tag.

Moreover, since the pandemic Vanderbilt’s dining halls have not been providing the same quality of food as pre-pandemic.  Maybe what worked before the pandemic is not working during the pandemic.  Maybe thinking outside the box and outside the norm would help in this situation.  This is a very easy compromise the college could provide students.  Maybe Vanderbilt could practice the flexibility it so frequently asks students to practice, with this issue.  If the dining halls are delivering what they promise, students will choose to eat there without having to be forced.  It is important to remember that many students/parents are borrowing this money and will have to repay it one day with interest and that’s sad.  Most students are losing $169.00/week paying for food they did not receive and that is just plain wrong!

It is important for Vanderbilt to foster a sense of community on campus.  The dining halls certainly play a role in this effort, however, granting students the option to choose a smaller dining plan rather than the required 19-21 meals would not seriously hurt the sense of community. Abandoning the requirement for all on-campus students to purchase 19-21 meals per week would go a long way in lightening the financial burden that many students carry, in increasing the ability of students to control their diets, and it would go along way in helping students remember their time spent at Vanderbilt fondly which is what we all want.

Please sign this petition to get many more options for required meal plans to include some as low as 6-8 to as high as 21 or more. 

A Vandy Concerned Parent