WHEREAS, Access to convenient and affordable on-campus eateries are important for graduate student general well being; and

WHEREAS, There are currently disincentives for graduate students to participate in a Cornell Dining meal plan; the only meal plan offered to graduate students not living in on-campus housing, the ‘Meals By Design’ debit meal plan, includes a non-refundable $50 administrative fee, which is offset by the 8% discount tax-exempt purchases only if a student purchases $750 Big Red Bucks per year; and

WHEREAS, Other Cornell Dining meal plans are undergraduate-oriented; they are inconvenient and expensive for graduate students who do not live in or near on-campus housing; and

WHEREAS, The Big Red Barn Graduate & Professional Student Center (BRB) began accepting undergraduate meal equivalency points and then later Big Red Bucks starting in 2002, which has increased the number of undergraduates in the BRB during dining hours; and

WHEREAS, Faculty and staff currently have a meal plan, Meal Choice, specifically designed to meet their needs, which includes special discounts and incentives at various times of the day and specific locations across campus; and

WHEREAS, No such meal plan exists for graduate students, yet many graduate students work for the university in similar roles; and

WHEREAS, The lack of graduate student participation in Cornell Dining meal plans means that graduate students pay more for their on-campus meals than undergraduates, staff and faculty; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the GPSA supports the Cornell Dining initiative to create a meal plan for graduate and professional students that

a) Provides a reasonable discount for purchases made at all on-campus retail locations,

b) Allows students to conveniently add money to their account in small increments, and

c) Includes additional discounts for purchases made at the BRB.

RESOLVED, That this resolution be sent to Susan Murphy, Vice President for Student and Academic Services; Barbara Knuth, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School; Jan Allen, Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs; Kris Corda, Director of the Big Red Barn; Gail T. Finan, Director of Cornell Dining; Richard W. Anderson, Assistant Director of Cornell Dining; and Jill E. Marshall, Chair of the Student Assembly Cornell Dining Services Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Matthew Holden
Applied Mathematics Field Representative, GPSA Representative to the Dining Committee

Nicole M. Baran
GPSA Executive Vice President and Social Science Representative