Trinity University has altered the meal plans for the upcoming school year. The new meal plans will no longer allow us one board exchange per day. We are getting less for our money, and as Trinity students, we are smart enough to know that we deserve better. The issues with these meal plan changes are as follows: 1. Prices increase while values decrease. The meal plans last year were significantly less expensive. The lowest meal plan was $2706.25 per semester last year, but has now gone up to $2922.75. Trinity has repeatedly claimed that it wants to be affordable for all students. Meanwhile, they raise the cost of a meal plan, which they require you to purchase, while making the meal plan worth less. Even the best plan, which is $108.25 more expensive than last year’s, doesn’t allow for a board exchange every day of the week. 2. Board exchanges keep us nourished. Mabee is on lower campus. Students typically do not have time to go all the way down to lower campus between classes just to eat. Taking away the option for one board exchange every day will lead to Trinity students being improperly nourished and will hinder our ability to perform at the level we are expected to. It’s Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs— our physiological needs such as food must be met for us to succeed. 3. The new plan unfairly discriminates against people with eating issues. I am autistic and have severe sensory difficulties with food. There are only five foods I can consistently eat from Trinity, all of which I get using my board exchange. Several of my friends have food allergies or dietary restrictions. Cross contamination is a big concern, and having a board exchange allows for students with these dietary needs to choose options that they feel safe eating. Changing our meal plan is not only inconvenient for most students but also creates more challenges for neurodivergent students and students with dietary restrictions, which, if you ask me, sounds like blatant ableism and discrimination. 4. The bronze plan does not supply students with enough for three meals a day. This is a huge issue. Some students are in strained financial situations where they are only able to afford a bronze plan. The plan has now limited board exchange to 1 per week, all while only giving students 15 meals per week. That’s about 2 meals per day. 5. The school neglected to inform us of these changes. As Trinity students, we pay a lot to be here. Our families spend TONS of money and we work very hard to maintain scholarships. The absolute least they could do was inform us of these changes, though informing us would not have made the changes any better. Trinity students are calling for the improvement of this meal plan. Trinity University needs to either restore the meal plan from this year, or better yet, improve it. If this school truly cares about accessibility and accommodating its students, they will revise this meal plan and bring justice to its students. Let it be known that if Trinity fails to alter this meal plan, it will negatively affect the students’ lives, and will likely negatively influence applications and admissions.