[Norris Market scanning sounds]
The end of winter quarter is rapidly approaching. This means finals are just around the corner, spring break plans are made, and…dining dollars are running out.
People on the street:
I have 40 dining dollars and 67 cents left.
I have 59 dollars and 20 cents.
35 dollars and 9 cents.
I have 73 dollars and 53 cents.
If you’re unfamiliar, dining dollars are part of most Northwestern meal plans. Students can buy meals, coffee, and snacks from dining establishments in Norris and across campus. They offer a welcome break from the standard dining hall meal swipes and meal exchanges. The catch? They’re limited.
MARGARET SPRIGG-DUDLEY: It happened probably four or five times per quarter I would be the one who’s checking them out and they run out of dining dollars.
That’s Weinberg sophomore Margaret Sprigg-Dudley, who worked at Brew Coffee Lab in Main Library last year. It was a popular spot for dining dollars, so Sprigg-Dudley would start to see a pattern at the cash register.
[Nat sound: coffee shop noises]
SPRIGG-DUDLEY: You know, at the beginning of the quarter, it’s very simple. I say “How do you wanna pay?” and everyone just says “dining dollars,” and it’s easy. And then there’s this transition in the middle of the quarter where you start to see– like I’ll ask how do you want to pay–and there’s this period of time where people keep saying dining dollars, and then I start getting people who discover they’ve run out through me.
And then, at the end of the quarter, everyone is paying just with money there, and if someone comes up and is paying with dining dollars, like that’s an exciting moment for me.
Dining dollars are a precious commodity for first and second-year students, who are required to purchase the Open Access Meal plan. The mandatory meal plan for underclassmen includes unlimited meal swipes, 5 meal exchanges a week, and 125 dining dollars per quarter. While many students spend their dining dollars throughout the quarter, some take advantage of the fact that they roll over.
GEORGIA MANN: I currently have 165 dining dollars.
School of Comm Sophomore Georgia Mann still has plenty of spending power. While she said she doesn’t specifically plan out her dining dollar usage, she’s following a pattern similar to her freshman year.
MANN: Last year I didn’t spend much time in Norris in the fall so there wasn’t many chances for me to use my dining dollars and then it got to winter and I was like “Oh my gosh! I have so many! I should use them!” And then I didn’t. And then spring, I used them pretty steadily, and then, the last three weeks of spring I still had like 175 dining dollars left and I was like “Oh yeah! Let’s go crazy” and then I got a lot of little treats while I was like ready to be done with school.
I’ve been spending a little more in the winter this year than I did last year, but obviously, I still have a lot left and it’s almost the end of the quarter, so I feel like I’m on a pretty similar track where I’m just gonna go bananas at the end of the year.
And for every student like Mann who saves their dining dollars, there are also students like Weinberg freshman Taz Ahmed.
TAZ AHMED: I have 4 dollars and 3 cents left in dining dollars.
Ahmed’s dining dollars dropped into the single digits around week five of this quarter.
AHMED: I use it when I feel like it. You know, I don’t really have a strategy. I don’t really mind.
Of course, students who run out early in the quarter always have the option of paying with real money.
AHMED: I remember last quarter I did start using my own money and maybe I’ll do that later if I really want something, but so far I haven’t really had the craving.
Whether students are rolling in the dough, spacing out their spending, or flat out, there’s always the question: is 125 per quarter enough?
PotS: No.
AHMED: I don’t think it’s too little. I think it’s a fair amount. 150 would be a nice zero number that I would like, but, you know, 125 is still fine.
MANN: I live in a residential college and get a lot of random snacks on a normal basis. I think it’s fair, but I also acknowledge that I’m coming from a biased place of not being desperate for snacks and Starbucks all the time.
PotS: We need a little more. I feel like if it was like…200..that would be really great. But like 125 is a little low.
[Nat sound: Reprise Roasters purchase]
From Evanston, I’m Juliet Allan, WNUR News
