Students are getting a chance to contribute to ASU President Michael Crow's mandatory freshman meal plan proposal.
The Undergraduate Student Government plans to host a forum on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. for students and administrators to talk about the proposed meal plan.
"Students can share and voice their opinions as well as ... understand the rationale behind the idea," USG President Sophie O'Keefe-Zelman said.
Administrators Sally Ramage, Ben Hartley and Mike Matthies are scheduled to speak on a panel during the meeting, O'Keefe-Zelman said. She said she expects about 50 to 100 students to attend.
"The main goal is basically to explore that options are available to the students, particularly in the wake of the proposed [meal plan] changes," said Cledwyn Jones, an Undergraduate Student Government senator of the Barrett Honors College and head of a committee formed to explore the proposed plan.
Jones said he hopes to get a better understanding of what might work best at ASU by investigating what has been done at other universities with mandatory meal plans.
Once the committee has completed its research, members will present a recommendation to the senate. Jones said he wasn't sure when the research would be completed.
"There is a precedent, it seems, in the past where students have had their voices heard in terms of their food service options," Jones said. "The ultimate goal of this committee is not to oppose administrative policy from the outset, but rather it is to ensure that students receive the best value for their money from the food services available to them."
Education freshman Ebony Greathouse said she is in favor of having student representation when it comes to the proposed meal plan.
"We need someone who is going to speak for what we want and what we actually need, not for what's going to fill peoples' pockets," she said.
Jones said the committee members were also interested in the relationship between ASU and food service provider Sodhexo and hope to have some input when contract negotiations begin in the future.
"It is important, I think, that the students talk with the contractor ... that students have a voice," said Ramage, associate vice president of Student Affairs, director of Student Development and the Memorial Union, and contract manager for the MU, campus cafes and cafeterias. "I look forward to working with the students and helping facilitate a discussion of their desires to our contractor."
Reach the reporter at rkost@asu.edu.
