Photo Credit | Madelyn Wheat
Liaison for ATU and Chartwells, Tammy Rye, discussed potential upcoming changes within Chambers cafeteria and Baz-Tech at the weekly SGA meeting on Jan. 29.
Chambers Cafeteria is getting refurbished with benches and chairs due to wear and tear that has accumulated since. The screens above meal serving areas will be replaced, and the bathrooms will also be renovated. The building was last renovated in 2013 for 6.7 million dollars.
In Baz-Tech, Jerry’s Grill is being remodeled and will showcase a new menu. All of these changes can be expected to occur in the months ahead.
Rye began introducing the next topic on her agenda by asking the members of SGA to keep knowledge of the proposal to themselves. Rye said it was pending board approval which is the reason for this. However, it should be noted that any government meetings supported by public funding are open to the public, therefore everything said is public knowledge.
A proposed change in meal plans has been made. This cuts down the options of meal plans from fourteen to seven.
There is an up to 9% increase in the overall cost of meal plans. The increase follows a 9% increase from the previous year.
The decision to reduce the amount of meal plan options is in response to “a lot of parents are frustrated not being able to figure out what their kid needs.” Rye said.
She also said that since students are adding DCB to their accounts throughout the semester, the plan is to add it to the cost at the beginning of the semester. Yet this was met with some concerns.
Allie Davis, Secretary of Culture and Belonging said, “I’m worried since we’re loading higher on the front-end people won’t be able to afford the same meal plan that they do now. We might be front-loading too much. That’s my main concern.”
Later, Rye mentioned that Chartwells wants to cut down on the number of meal trades, and availability to use them. Rye explained that ATU doesn’t make any money off of the meal trades students use.
However, upon confusion from senate members over Chartwells losing money, Kevin Solomon, Dean of Student Engagement said “They (Chartwells) are not losing money or they wouldn’t be here. They are not in the red.”
The first option for reducing the meal trades would be for students to only get one meal trade a day without the use of it between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. That is notably the busiest time for lunch on campus. The second option would be for students to keep both meal trades, but not use them between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Members of SGA had strong opinions on this with Carson Smith, Secretary of Finance and Business stating “I think it’s unfair for the increase in price to get less in terms of what we can use, especially after the semester we’ve had; it’s kind of insulting… It’s just really shocking in my opinion.”
Davis had an issue with this as well, and stated, “It is unacceptable for Baz to offer any less than what they are currently, with the state that they are in, but that’s my own opinion. With the cost of the meal plan to then say we’re going to block off the most popular lunchtimes in the day… it is downright unacceptable… it’s already below the quality of where it should be.”
These proposed changes will be presented to the board on February 28, 2025. It was stated during the meeting that changes can still be made to the proposal.
More recent changes in Chambers include Pho being added to the Mongolian grill station, and biscuits and gravy now being served daily.
The Ferguson Student Center is going to start having tours with associate dean level staff being the first to see it. SGA executive board members will be touring it on Feb. 14, 2025.
The student center will be getting new workout equipment with suggestions from SGA. Then a campus-wide poll will be sent out for students to vote on what new equipment should be installed. A chain restaurant is going to be added to the Fergusen Center during completion as well.
Concerns about Chambers cafeteria and Baz-Tech can be sent to Tammy Rye at [email protected].
Any opinions or concerns regarding the proposed change in meal plans can be sent to [email protected], and a feedback survey can be completed at https://forms.office.com/r/zWmC7UCE3b.
This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
