Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

46° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Mandatory meal plan vexes users

Students living on campus may be sick of dining hall food, but they need a better reason than that to leave the Northwestern meal plan.

Being a vegan or a vegetarian doesn’t seem to be enough of an excuse either — a fact Christine Witkowski knows firsthand.

A strict vegan, Witkowski has been trying to convince the university to let her off the 13-meals-a-week plan since last Spring Quarter.

NU requires all students living on campus to purchase at minimum the 13-meals-a-week plan, which costs students $3,680 per year.

Witkowski, a Music sophomore, said the limited vegan options should make officials grant her an exception.

“I don’t understand why they are asking me to pay so much for something I can’t eat,” she said. “The meal plan itself is already too expensive. I can’t buy food on my own, too. They are forcing me to take out more loans while I’m starving.”

Medill sophomore Brittany Risher, a vegetarian, said she didn’t want to go through the “tedious” process of getting off the meal plan. Her dissatisfaction with the meal plan played into her decision to move off campus this year.

“It was just too much of a hassle. Even after all the work, they can still decide to keep you on,” said Risher, a former Daily staffer.

Risher was unhappy with the selection and finding pieces of meat in the vegetarian dishes. In her apartment she can prepare her own food and make sure her food is “safe,” she said.

NU officials note that dining halls make special accommodations for vegetarians and vegans at the student’s request, but Witkoweski said her request was not met.

Witkowski, like all vegans, will not eat anything with animal products or animal by-products, such as dairy. She said she did some research and found that Dean Foods is the owner of the university’s soy milk supplier, SunSoy. She does not want her money going to the same company from which she refuses to buy products.

“I will not compromise my beliefs,” she said.

Witkowski does not expect the school to change its soy milk provider.

“It’s just easier if they let me off the plan,” she said.

Last summer Witkowski returned home to find out she had lost 12 pounds, had several vitamin deficiencies and suffered from anemia.

Her doctor wrote a note, but university officials decided her doctor’s letter did not have enough merit to remove her from the meal plan.

Students living on campus and trying to cancel the 13-meals-a-week plan must have a medical examination from Searle Student Health Service or have a full-time internship, said Anne Vanosdol, assistant director for conference planning and food service.

Although Vanosdol noticed more vegans and vegetarians on campus than in previous years, she said most still remain on the meal plan. She said NU offers many vegetarian choices in the dining halls and accommodates students with special needs.

NU dietitian Rebecca Berman examines individual cases of students trying to cancel their meal plans. She said food allergies and religion are common reasons the university releases students from the plan.

Five students have visited Berman this quarter, fewer than in previous years, she said.

“Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to get off the meal plan for a legitimate reason or if it’s just because they don’t like the food,” Berman said.

Weinberg sophomore Amar Vira successfully cancelled his meal plan this quarter because of the strict diet his religion demands. A follower of Jainism, Vira cannot eat any meat or root products like carrots, garlic and onions.

Last year Vira rarely could eat in the dining halls and lost 15 pounds.

The university reduced his meal plan to five meals a week.

“They just couldn’t supplement my diet,” he said. “It’s a lot better for me this way.”

Reach Stephanie Chen at [email protected].

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Mandatory meal plan vexes users