New meal plan?
Nikki Main, Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/18/10 Section: Residence Life
Lynchburg College plans to implement a new policy that will allow students to use express accounts at surrounding restaurants such as the Corner Cafe, JoJo's, La Carreta and Osaka's. The Student Government Association is hoping to have the meal plan up and running by the fall 2010. The policy will be similar to the payment methods offered at on-campus locations like Roly Poly where students' express accounts are used.
SGA President Patrick Durany explained that the new meal plan will not include meal exchanges and will only be associated with the express accounts.
SGA said it hopes to include chain restaurants like Subway and Chick-Fil-A, but nothing is guaranteed. The restaurants would need to incorporate a new method of payment in order to be included in the plan.
"A concerning factor is if restaurants will accept a new method of students paying at their restaurants," Durany said.
The meal plan was presented in August of 2009, and SGA has been working around the clock to ensure the meal plan will be available to students by the 2010-2011 school year.
"We have come so far since the idea was brought up in August that we are almost to the part where the administration has to take over," Durany said.
Dominos is already using a method of gaining public attention by using the Westover Plan, however it is run manually, which makes it more difficult than the plan that SGA is developing. The new meal plan will automatically take money out of the student express accounts whereas Dominos submits purchases once a week to its finance office and it is then taken out of the express accounts as one lump sum.
Students will not be permitted to use their express accounts to buy alcohol.
"Other schools have the same limitation on alcohol and LC will follow in that direction," Durany said.
Randolph-Macon College, among other institutions, uses off-campus meal plans. Elon University in Elon, NC has 50 restaurants involved with their meal plan.
SGA sent out a survey to see what the common consensus is from LC students about adopting the plan.
"On-campus surveys usually only receive 100 to 150 responses, but this survey got over 600 responses in which 95 percent of the students said they support the idea to have the off-campus meal plan," Durany said.
Durany said that this plan is good for parents because there will be an option to place limits on the accounts.
"This policy would be a great way for parents to keep track of spending while his or her child is at college," Durany said.
Durany said he loves the idea and joked he may want to stay at LC for the program.
"I love the idea. I want to graduate because I've been here for four years, but I might want to stay another year for this."
SGA President Patrick Durany explained that the new meal plan will not include meal exchanges and will only be associated with the express accounts.
SGA said it hopes to include chain restaurants like Subway and Chick-Fil-A, but nothing is guaranteed. The restaurants would need to incorporate a new method of payment in order to be included in the plan.
"A concerning factor is if restaurants will accept a new method of students paying at their restaurants," Durany said.
The meal plan was presented in August of 2009, and SGA has been working around the clock to ensure the meal plan will be available to students by the 2010-2011 school year.
"We have come so far since the idea was brought up in August that we are almost to the part where the administration has to take over," Durany said.
Dominos is already using a method of gaining public attention by using the Westover Plan, however it is run manually, which makes it more difficult than the plan that SGA is developing. The new meal plan will automatically take money out of the student express accounts whereas Dominos submits purchases once a week to its finance office and it is then taken out of the express accounts as one lump sum.
Students will not be permitted to use their express accounts to buy alcohol.
"Other schools have the same limitation on alcohol and LC will follow in that direction," Durany said.
Randolph-Macon College, among other institutions, uses off-campus meal plans. Elon University in Elon, NC has 50 restaurants involved with their meal plan.
SGA sent out a survey to see what the common consensus is from LC students about adopting the plan.
"On-campus surveys usually only receive 100 to 150 responses, but this survey got over 600 responses in which 95 percent of the students said they support the idea to have the off-campus meal plan," Durany said.
Durany said that this plan is good for parents because there will be an option to place limits on the accounts.
"This policy would be a great way for parents to keep track of spending while his or her child is at college," Durany said.
Durany said he loves the idea and joked he may want to stay at LC for the program.
"I love the idea. I want to graduate because I've been here for four years, but I might want to stay another year for this."
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