http://www.reportermag.com/article/50

Illogical Consumption by Elizabeth Bennett

03.21.2008 | Views

Bryan Williams

Ever wonder why at the end of every quarter, a student has six 24 packs of Mountain Dew, 10 board games, 10 bags of chips, three mega Goldfish containers and six pints of ice cream in his dorm room? Or why you hear at the end of the quarter, “Who wants to go to Ben & Jerry’s? My treat!”

Food Debit rules require all students living in the dorms to spend a minimum of $1,281 on food, to be bought only on campus. In addition, food debit is not available as a form of currency at every campus eatery. Java’s, a coffee shop that facilitates meetings, studying, and student collaboration, does not accept food debit as a form of payment. Therefore, while food costs are high, many are still unable to spend the roughly $16.67 per day allocated to them.

As a result of these regulations, students are often challenged to find creative ways to spend extra debit rather than wasting it. Many volunteer organizations take advantage of the surplus by holding drives for various non-profit organizations. These drives, held at the end of each quarter, can be found every night in front of Sol’s or the Corner Store. They help fuel the wacky spending sprees that have become legend. Students may clear out their debit by buying 30 cans of Campbell’s soup, 30 bars of candy, 10 boxes of cereal, and 40 Ramen packs, sometimes to donate and other times for their dorm rooms. Ever wonder why only chicken soup is gone, or why there is no shampoo left?

Rather than encouraging students to learn budgeting, saving, and smart financial management—important skills that students need to master in order to succeed in the workforce—these regulations actually cause and encourage illogical and erratic spending sprees. If RIT wants students to be more responsible with their money, all they have to do is provide incentives that already exist in a real world setting.

Many colleges allow food debit to be reduced, rolled over, or even returned to the students at the end of the school term. If this occurred at RIT, students might even be able to use their remaining debit to buy RIT gear at the bookstore, or even try to offset the outrageous costs of new books. But the price of textbooks is just a bone to pick on another day. For now, a lot of us would simply like more flexibility in food debit.