SGA discusses meal swipes during Tuesday’s meeting

Lashana Harney

The Student Government Association discussed possible changes to meal plans at its meeting on Tuesday.

Bill 10-14-F, Funding for the Emergency Food Pilot Program, passed with no debate. The bill allocated $500 from the Legislative Discretionary funds to cover portions of the total cost of the $3,600 Emergency Food Pilot Program.

The program will allow students to obtain Fresh Food Company waivers while a student’s university account is frozen. A student’s account can be frozen if the student is late paying bills on university accounts and cannot use meal plans as a result.

The Emergency Food Pilot Program will give students 10 free meals. The Emergency Food Pilot Program will give the first 50 students who can provide proof that their account is locked 10 free meals. 

“This would be just so that these students can have food for a few days while they work on paying that,” said William Berry, bill author. 

Resolution 5-14-F, Resolution to Support Rolling Over Meal Swipes, passed with no debate. The resolution supports amending University Dining Policies to allow remaining meal swipes at the end of a week to be rolled over to the following weeks in the form of meal plans or meal plan dollars.

“Currently, the way it works is, as stated in the resolution, you lose whatever meal swipes you have left on Sunday and I feel like if you pay for those then they shouldn’t be forfeited just because it’s the end of the week,” Berry said.

Berry, who wrote the resolution, said Aramark is conducting a feasibility test to determine if rolling over meal swipes would be ideal. He said Aramark is in the stage of determining whether meal plan prices would have to increase in order for the rollover program to work.

SGA hosted a guest speaker during Tuesday’s meeting. Kelsey Luttrell, Student Legal Services Clinic representative, spoke to SGA about the upcoming clinic that will provide legal services to students at little to no cost. The clinic will be the first of its nature in Kentucky and services will cover aid in issues ranging from legal name changes to first offense DUI. The clinic will begin in the spring with available internships to paralegal students. 

The SGA meeting for Nov. 4 was cancelled in order to allow senators and students to take advantage of Election Day. 

Barrett Greenwell, director of Academic and Student Affairs, said around 200 scholarship applications were submitted for review last Friday. Greenwell said the Academic Affairs committee and Student Affairs committee will be sorting through the scholarships in the upcoming weeks to determine scholarship recipients.