“Put your plate on the scale, please.”

This sentence will likely sound familiar to all Binghamton University students. This is not only a common phrase for tracking your macros or starting a new diet. This is also BU’s method of charging for dining hall meals, which are mandatory for all students who live on campus. Most universities offer meal plans for their students, understanding that people living on campus are not going to cook for themselves often. However, where Binghamton does stand out is in its particular method of paying for the meals. BU advertises its meal plan as “just like a debit card. Each time you purchase a meal at one of our dining locations, the amount is deducted from your account balance.” BU, as we all know, will charge students according to the specific food they choose and how much of it they get. Most of us have grown accustomed to this system, although perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to accept it.

Other comparable universities, like Syracuse University, have a radically different approach to their meal plans. Syracuse University notes that “Residential dining centers are ‘all you can eat’ with one meal plan swipe, and each plan comes with guest meals for when you have visitors or if you just want to treat a friend.” By using this system, students are able to get as much food as they like without having to worry about the ultimate cost of their meal. This is a luxury that is not afforded to students at BU and has a myriad of unfortunate consequences.

BU’s standard meal plan, Plan C, comes with $1,000 loaded onto it. This may seem like a large amount of money, but when you consider that this is paying for an entire semester’s worth of food, it suddenly seems much less impressive. According to BU’s budget plan, students should be spending roughly $60 a week if they want to stay on budget. However, with the consistent upticks in price, spending less than 10 dollars a day on food is simply impossible. Often, a single meal will run you more than that, and once you start getting into the specialized foods — halal, kosher, etc. — the food gets even more expensive. Simple servings — the allergen-conscious meal option for students who can’t eat at the cross-contaminated main counter — is often double the price of the other food.

Additionally, since BU charges based on the amount of food you get, students will often skimp on the portion sizes. When the food is simply based on what you get, students have very little control over the portion sizes they are given, which can be frustrating for students who feel like they are being underserved. There seems to be no way of winning.

The current meal plan system forces students to budget and strategize what food they will be choosing and how much of it they can afford to get. Binghamton’s Plan C is their standard, but it is far from the cheapest and it is far from cheap. Students pay $3,063 a semester, which translates into 1,000 dining dollars. With the previously stated budget of less than 10 dollars a day, students are strictly limited to the cheapest meal options and the smallest portions if they are trying to stay on budget. Not every student is fortunate enough to be able to add more money to their meal plan throughout the semester and, therefore, many students are forced to be careful and frugal with their eating habits. This, obviously, is a terrible way to view food, and when coupled with the fact that disordered eating usually rears its ugly head in between the ages of 18 and 21 — when many people are in college — it becomes even worse.

While BU is most likely not trying to foster unhealthy eating habits in its students, the current system they have implemented seems to be forcing students in that direction. Therefore, I believe the time has come to completely do away with BU’s “debit card”-style meal plan and, instead, join the majority of American universities in their swipe-based meal plan systems.

Most colleges in America, such as the aforementioned Syracuse University, operate on a system of meal swipes. Instead of paying for individual components of the meal, students will have a certain amount of meals preloaded onto their meal plan, and once they use a swipe, they can get however much and whatever kind of food they want for no additional charge. This change could benefit all students. Students with dietary restrictions need not worry about the cost of their oftentimes necessary specialized meal. Students who are more health-conscious will be able to afford the healthier food options, such as the food offered at Simple Servings, without spending significantly more on the food, which will likely also encourage other students to order the healthier food that they may have been previously avoiding due to the expense. Students will ultimately be able to choose the portion sizes and specialized meals that work best for them without worrying about staying on budget. By switching to a system of meal swipes instead, BU can foster a healthier, more sustainable relationship between its students and their food.

Sarah Ash is a sophomore majoring in English.