Fixing the 'trick turning' glitch is sensible

The way students eat on campus is evolving, and we should embrace the change. After years of "trick turning," Tufts Dining will officially put an end to the glitch in the meal-swipe system that has allowed students on the Premium Meal Plan to go to Hodgdon after eating at either Carmichael or Dewick-MacPhie dining halls. In a press statement released on April 9, Tufts Dining said that the change was necessary, and that the Services Committee of the TCU Senate had been consulted about the change.

The statement calls students "savvy" for tricking the system. A bug in the meal-swipe system enabled students on the Premium Meal Plan to "trick turn," and while it's very likely that administrators knew what was going on, it's also likely that the system's fault has finally become unsustainable. The reality is that students on the Premium Meal Plan pay for access to the dining halls or the Hodgdon's Good-to-Go Take Out for each meal, not both. This change may come as a surprise to those who were unaware that “trick turning” was a mistake, but we should embrace the change because the expense of cheating the system is not just paid for by freshmen on unlimited plans. Rather, the cost is spread out throughout the whole system, making every meal plan more expensive than it has to be.

Additionally, this fall, students on the Premium Meal Plan will go from getting 10 guest meals to just four. According to the press release, students will instead get $80 in JumboCash to replace six of the previous 10 guest meals. Four meals is actually the average of number of guest meals used per semester. This is also a welcome change, as students will be able to use the $80 anywhere that uses JumboCash. Instead paying for and possibly wasting guest meals, students will be able to use JumboCash anywhere it is accepted, which is a more efficient solution.

This change comes on the heels of the recently implemented late-night dining at the Commons and a new Kosher Deli. Tufts Dining offers nine different eating locations on campus, and while trick turning was a favorite for freshman students who are all on the Premium Meal Plan, next semester’s incoming students will get a fairer, more reasonable system. Because of "trick turning," the Good-to-Go Take Out has transformed from a place to get quick meals into a pseudo-market where students go to stockpile on food after eating at a dining hall. The decision to fix the glitch in the system has been long overdue. Our campus should embrace Tufts Dining's decision to make sure Hodgdon is used in the way it was intended, and we should support expanded dining options like the Commons' expanded hours and the new Kosher Deli.