by Daniel Fappiano

If you’re registered to live on campus at Central Connecticut, you must also sign up for a full meal plan. If you sign up for the smallest meal plan offered, you’re automatically allotted $100 in Blue Chip funds. At least, that’s what I thought.

Recently, CCSU has changed their meal plan. Students buying the cheapest plan are no longer given $100 on their Blue Chip, but rather $100 in Flex Dollars. Students can still receive Blue Chip money in their meal plan, but coming at a much higher cost.

With Blue Chip money, students are able to not only do laundry, but purchase food and other items with businesses that surround Central. Students are also able to add money to their Blue Chip account whenever they’d like throughout the year.

However, with Flex Dollars, students are only able to purchase food from Devil’s Den, the on-campus Starbucks or the Grab-and-Go in Social Sciences Hall. Flex Dollars reset every semester, but students aren’t able to add more money to your account throughout the year.

With the Spring 2018 semester being just my second semester on campus, this change caught me by surprise. I thought I was going to be able to do my laundry and visit restaurants around campus using the meal plan I had paid for. Yet, with the new plan in place, if I want to do either of those things, it has to come out of my pocket.

While Devil’s Den does offer a wide range of foods from subs to burgers to burritos, being forced to spend your money all in one place doesn’t seem fair. It’s nice to have a “free” $100 to get away from the Dining Hall once in a while, but it’d be better to be able to use your meal plan in more expansive ways.

Furthermore, it would’ve been nice if CCSU made students aware of this change prior to registration. Although they may not have been able to, due to time constraints and the new system being put in place, it would’ve been nice to have a clear understanding of what was happening.

If students living on campus were still receiving Blue Chip dollars, it would be a nice way to save on laundry every semester. While being able to eat at restaurants surrounding campus is nice, Flex Dollars still allow you a fine selection at Devil’s Den. However, with Flex Dollars not helping with laundry, on-campus students suffer.

Students must go to an ATM, take out money and then put it into their Blue Chip to do their laundry. That’s $20 out of their bank account every time they need to wash their clothes. With an extra $100 to spend over a semester, students would no longer have to spend that extra money and would have a more secure bank account.

It makes sense why CCSU made the change, as they are able to save money with all Flex Dollars being funneled into on-campus dining. However, it hurts low-income students having to stay on campus.

If Central were to make a change back to giving $100 in Blue Chip rather than Flex Bucks with their basic meal plan, students would feel like they’re receiving more. They’re given more opportunities to spend and save money as the price of college continues to go up.

It may be a small gesture, but even an extra $100 in Blue Chip could’ve helped some on-campus students, like myself. Switching their plan to offer Flex Dollars is only hurting those students instead.