There are three kinds of people in the world. People with too many food points, people with just enough food points and people with so few food points they give up eating on, say, Tuesdays and Thursdays in an effort to be able to eat during finals.
Yes, there is always the option to add more points, but that just doesn't seem right to some people. You make a decision at the beginning of the year. You look at the Dining Points Usage Chart and figure out how much you think you'll eat. Then, it's all up to you to maintain that rate of spending throughout the semester.
And, for some, this just doesn't work out well.
In my case, I was basically an idiot. I ran out of food points freshman year, so I opted for the second smallest plan this year. I am, however, a small person, with a small appetite, who doesn't eat breakfast on campus ever. It was a very poor decision on my part.
And I somehow misunderstood the policy for excess food points, although the Dining Services website clearly states "a student who participates in the Dining Plan for both semesters of the academic year will receive a $100 refund for the first 100 unspent Points plus a 50 percent refund of the Points remaining after the first 100."
As I type this, I am almost $350 in excess of where I should be. And I've been treating friends to snacks and dinners for a couple weeks now.
I loathe the thought of only getting half of my money back (after the first 100 Points) so I am trying to come up with logical and creative ways to spend food points without them being a waste.
One of the best options I have found is to use my situation to my advantage to make/solidify friendships. I've found a couple of those people who have just tried to avoid eating campus meals, and I order them Cinelli's or take them to the Faculty Commons or the Lobby Shop. I win because I feel I'm helping them out with my excess points. They win because they get to eat. It's a marvelous symbiotic relationship.
Then there are the groceries. I used to frequent Target or Kroger when I wanted to stock up on some food and beverages for the room to try to save money. But, in saving money, I found that I was losing food points. Why buy pop (yes, it's pop, not soda) at Target when I can buy it overpriced at the Lobby Shop or Uncle Harry's? Silly me. By shopping on campus, I can spend nearly twice as much money in the form of food points and greatly reduce my excess. An excellent plan indeed. Thanks for helping me out, Duke!
And finally, I've decided that I deserve a treat sometimes. I work hard, I go to my classes and I get decent enough grades. Sometimes it's just too hard to make that trek from my dorm to the Bryan Center for some dinner when I know the delivery guy will bring my Spartacus or Cinelli's right to the Wannamaker fire lane. Merchants on Points has become one of my favorite sources of sustenance this Spring.
And on occasion, I think I deserve a Nasher lunch or a WaDuke dinner. A couple meals at the WaDuke could put me back on track in no time.
So as I spend my last few weeks of the semester trying desperately to use up most of my food points, I encourage all others in my situation to try out some of my ideas and to share new ones with me.
For those of you starving yourselves, seek out some friends with too many points. There are plenty of us out there. Form a Food Point partnership of sorts. Not only do you get to eat, but you always have a friend with whom you can eat. You'd be a fool not to take advantage.
WaDuke anyone?
Allie Vergotz is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Friday.
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