Spring Break
Hopkins dining: less bang for your buck
Issue date: 3/6/08
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Aramark overcharges us and the lack of competition leaves the students with no recourse. The University should not force us to buy meal plans.
The most egregious offense of Aramark is the double-charge. Let's say Mary Kate and her friend Ashley go to the Charles Street Market. They both decide to purchase a box of Chicken in a Biskit baked snack crackers (an essential part of a healthy breakfast).
Mary Kate pays with her credit card and it costs her $4.79 in real dollars. Ashley pays in Dining Dollars and it costs her $4.79 … or does it? A 1,500 Dining Dollar meal plan costs $1,938 per semester. That means each Dining Dollar is actually worth about 77 cents. Ashley's box of Chicken in a Biskit costs her $6.19.
Lucky Ashley. If I go to the store and buy the Chicken in a Biskit, it costs me $6.32 because I am on an upperclassmen plan. I love Chicken in a Biskit but not that much.
All these facts you can find on http://www.schooldish.com with the help of a simple calculator. The Web site gives this excuse for the discrepancy between Dining Dollars and real dollars: "The Dining Dollars you receive cover the cost of the food and the staff involved in preparing and serving the food. The difference between the Dining Dollars and the dollars paid is the overhead or facilities charge associated with the University's cost of providing and maintaining the facilities and equipment for dining service operations." Oddly enough, normal restaurants and supermarkets must also pay for overhead and their staff. Yet I do not have to purchase special Chipotle Dollars in order to get a burrito. I find the argument unconvincing.
Even if they were justified in charging us extra money, I do not see how it is fair that Aramark can essentially charge two different prices for the same item. My Chicken in a Biskit costs me more than if I bought it with real money. Either they charge everyone the same price, or they should not allow anyone to use real money at the Charles Street Market.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Anon
posted 3/07/08 @ 8:35 AM EST
You should be thankful Hopkins requires only freshmen to have dining plans... there are many schools which require students to have dining plans for much longer. (Continued…)
Charles Tsai
posted 3/07/08 @ 1:11 PM EST
First off, a dining dollar would be around $1.30 -- not 77 cents. I think the argument of the article might be slightly different if the 77 cents per dining dollar were the case. (Continued…)
Charles Tsai
posted 3/07/08 @ 1:18 PM EST
In regards to my opening line, I apologize to the author as I misread "worth" as "cost."
Anonymous
posted 3/08/08 @ 2:23 PM EST
That's why I referred a dining dollar as a "dining Euro" during my sophomore year (since the Euro-USD exchange rate was around 1.3 to 1 back in early 2007). (Continued…)
Jessica
posted 3/08/08 @ 2:29 PM EST
Hopkins requires freshman AND sophomores to have meal plans and exceptions are only give to those few sophomores who find housing in Bradford or Homewood. (Continued…)
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