For some time now, the inflated prices at Kessel have been an ongoing issue students on this campus have been vocal about. Many feel that the cost to buy a meal is far too high, and that the value reflects back in their accounts when running out of meal-plan money happens before the half-way mark in a semester. The general consensus among students is in favor of lowering prices – however, Pace may have another plan up their sleeves.

This past Friday, February 17th, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate Meeting, held once every two weeks, welcomed guest speaker Clifford Mondesir, Executive Director of Auxiliary Services, who proposed a new system to be implemented as soon as next semester – a Meal Exchange Program, where students will have a certain amount of meal swipes instead of a declining balance.    

While the system is still being worked on by Auxiliary Services, and many decisions are yet to be made, the student representatives at the Senate meeting and Mondesir discussed what a swipe-system would look like for Pace’s student body along with the benefits and drawbacks. This swipe-system would consist of Meal Swipes – although what defines a “meal” is still being worked out, Declining Dollars for extra, add-ons, and non-meal purchases, along with Flex Dollars. 

This system is set to be implemented as soon as the next school year if all goes to plan, says Mondesir, in efforts to soothe students’ growing concern with food charge. This new system would have no impact on the already set prices at Kessel, Mondesir additionally noted, which is only affected by outside economic changes. 

Current students would have the option to opt into this new arrangement or stay with the present declining balance, whereas incoming classes would be defaulted into the swipe-system which will eventually phase out the system we know now. Commuter students will also be working on a separate system, but the details are still being hashed out. 

Plenty is still unknown, but the goal of announcing this system when the specifics haven’t been fully fleshed-out is to hear back from students on the topic. In email, Mondesir states that after gathering more feedback from the student body, a clearer plan will be laid out with the help of student representatives – and that any responses are welcome for consideration. Auxiliary Services has also launched a survey for students to take, which can be found in your Pace email inbox and closes on March 17th.