To the editor:

I am slightly troubled by Dining Services Director David Davidson’s reasoning for limiting the double-swipe policy (“Dining Services restricts 2 swipes,” 10/28). Davidson says Yale bases its meal plan costs on students eating 14 or 15 meals per week, which comes out to at most 225 meals in a 15-week semester. The full meal plan and the 14 meal plan with $100 Flex each cost $3900, so by Davidson’s own assumptions, we are paying a little over $17 per meal.

With meal plans mandatory for students living on-campus, one would think Yale could find a way to improve our $17-plus meals or, more likely, lower their cost. I highly doubt that a couple of meals worth of drinks or snacks, which I find more than reasonable in light of YUDS’ lack of late-night dining options, is truly making it impossible for Yale to provide us with meals at our current meal plan costs. If so, one has to question the necessity of the seemingly overwhelming costs that YUDS is incurring.

I might be able to understand restricting double-swiping if it resulted in decreased meal plan prices next year (i.e., less than $17 per meal). Something tells me, though, that this will not be the case.

Jay Goldklang ’05

Oct. 29, 2003