Monday. 7:45, Talk Radio. 7:50, buzzer alarm. The driving sun heats my cell and I get out of bed against my own will. I do the morning thing and then trudge to breakfast, which is a rarity for most students. $4.10.

Class occupies my time slot until 12:00pm. Hunger strikes swiftly like a ninja. I devour my $7.10 meal at the dining hall and proceed to suffer from a food coma.

The rest of the afternoon is spent doing homework or not doing homework.

Next thing I know, it’s time to eat again. $8.10 at Simpson. Was it good? Not bad. I can’t unnecessarily complain like most kids around here. I am now done with my eating for the day, unless I decide to hit up Simpson Store for later night munchies, which isn’t all that common.

I have now paid a total of $19.30. My plan is the all points, 1073 points, meal plan this semester. Unfortunately, I am only allotted approximately $10.70 per day. My three meal habit is spending twice that amount in one day. Right now I have in the ballpark of 230 points, and I don’t think that my eating habits are extreme or excessive; in fact, I feel they are rather healthy. My stomach is in grave danger. These semester-long meal plans seem more like a half semester program, especially with the added dollar on select dining hall meals.

The other meal plans fall short of feeding students for a whole year, also. There are about 100 days for on-campus students to utilize their meal plans. If a student chooses the 200 block meals and 175 points, then he/she ends up only having approximately 2 meals and 1.75 in points a day. 150 meals and 275 points per semester yield 1.5 meals and 2.75 points a day. The worst yet is 100 meals and 375 points per semester. This student gets one meal and 3.75 points per day. You can get a whole lot of nothing for $3.75 a day.

I don’t even want to get started on the 850 points per semester. Carte Blanche is the only plan that will feed you all semester long, but of course it’s the most expensive at $1200.

Only one of these meal plans provides enough for the recommended three meals a day. I realize that the University does not guarantee to provide enough food for a student all semester, but the logistics of obtaining food outside of campus are not very practical. Most students do not have a car to take to the grocery store or have unlimited Cat Scratch for Big Daddy’s once a day.

The University needs to keep in mind the students rather than the administration’s own wallets when devising these meal plans or else I will strike swiftly like a ninja.