Syracuse University proudly boasts of the variety and nutritive value of the food that was available to students on the 2020-2021 meal plan. The students new to campus this past year appreciated the healthy options that were offered to them and came to rely on this level of access to healthy eating. 

The University has a history of dieting and disordered eating and we fear that no longer allowing students to use meal swipes at Schine Dining or Campus Convenience Stores (i.e. West Campus Express, South Campus Express, Campus Store Market) will worsen the overall health of the student body.  This past academic year of 2020-2021, healthy options were available and easily accessible to students through places such as West Campus Express, Halal Shack, Corelife, and other Schine Center restaurants. 

Incoming and second-year students at Syracuse are under the impression that they will continue to have access to these dining options. However, the website for the Office of Housing, Meal Plan and I.D. Card Services states otherwise, with this information being confirmed by a phone call to the office. There has been no formal announcement made to students by any member of Syracuse University faculty or administration. The withholding of this information, intentional or not, is deceiving. Access to healthy options that support various eating habits has become a basic expectation of Syracuse students, and taking most of the options away is actively detrimental.

In essentially forcing students to pay more out of pocket for healthier options, Syracuse University is actively promoting a socioeconomic gap that would divide the student body. For those who are not dependent on the campus meal plan and are able to afford spending their own money on dining halls, (excluded from meal swipes and off-campus dining institutions) this change will have little impact. However, students who are dependent on the meal plan and who have to finance their own education will not have access to the same options they came to appreciate and expect this past academic year. 

Other students who would especially suffer from this change include those with severe allergies, students who observe religious eating restrictions, and students who suffer from digestive system disorders or illnesses.  

PLEASE NOTE: ALL students living in on-campus residence halls are REQUIRED to opt into a meal plan. These students will not have the ability to choose another option that is more conducive to their lifestyle, as they are forced to pay for a meal plan that they may not even be able to adequately use. 

This petition demands that Syracuse University continue to allow students to use their meal swipes at the restaurants at Schine Dining (Corelife Eatery, Halal Shack, Panda Express, and Tomato Wheel) and West Campus Express (among other excluded locations listed on the Housing Website), as they have this past year. 

For a full list of restaurants accepting Dining Dollars and ‘Cuse Cash as opposed to Meal Swipes, visit https://housingmealplans.syr.edu/meal-plans/participating-meal-plan-locations/

Pictured: Schine Student Center photographed by CitrusTV News