For the fall semester of 2011, changes were made to the meal plans. Meal equivalency was introduced and old plans were thrown out.

In a previous Collegian article, Fred Geib, general manager of dining operations, stated that the best use of meal swipes would be in the dining hall where students could eat as much food as they wanted.

It was also said that it could be quite possible for students to run out of swipes too early if they didn’t use them wisely.

The opposite problem became apparent last semester, when many students found they had too many meal swipes (in some cases, 100 swipes or more) left over with only a few weeks of school left.

It became an inconvenience to many students, especially those on the 240 block with 150 eagle dollars who couldn’t use equivalency to get rid of their extra swipes.

Other students with the equivalency meal plans were able to get rid of swipes by using the Eagles’ Nest to stock their rooms with food. AU even organized specialized Christmas baskets, gifts and other ways to use up their meals: for 20 meal swipes one could get a $100 coupon for the gift shop.

According to Geib, the gift ideas were completely spur of the moment. The school figured out what the students might want and delivered.

“We plan to do it again,” Geib said.

Instead of waiting until the final weeks of the semester, which made everything chaotic last semester, the school will be running events like this throughout the semester.

An example Geib gave was Valentine’s Day dinners in the Accent room for couples: only a certain number of swipes. The school has also discussed students donating food to the Ashland Food Bank.

When asked how it was possible for students to have so many meals left, Geib said: “It might be an indicator that people aren’t staying on weekends or eating on campus.”

A student on the 240 block plan can eat two meals a day and not run out or have too many swipes left at the end of the semester.

It is also possible to have three meals a day every once in a while and not run out, especially if a student does not stay on the weekends, which is common at AU.

Those on the meal plan know that the 240 block with 150 eagle dollars inconvenienced many students when it came time for the special swipe deals.

According to Geib, the meal plan will not exist after this semester. All the meal plans other than the unlimited plan and the 240 block with 150 eagle dollars have meal equivalency.