Bon Appétit may be acclaimed as one of the nation’s most highly-ranked campus food companies, but Wash. U. students know that the meal plan system certainly has its flaws. It may be too big (four points for a dollar anyone?), too small or too expensive, but with the creation of the campus card system, it is now getting just plain old. With more and more food items becoming available via campus card points (most noticeably the latest addition of Ibby’s Bistro in the DUC), it’s time to reconsider meal plan distribution.

Many campuses across the U.S. have instituted a “flex points” system in order to give their students the greatest number of dining options, and I think that Wash. U. should do the same. Formerly opposed to the idea, I feared that a flex points system would place restrictions on the use of dining money and that those extras such as coffee, smoothies, Subway and Ursa’s would be eliminated from the roster. Dining Services has gladly taken charge of all of these venues, however, and alleviated this concern.

I spent the summer on Columbia University’s campus meal plan and was impressed at how well the flex system complemented dining points. Campus food—including coffee and smoothies—could be purchased with flex points or dining dollars. Flex point use, unlike that of dining dollars, extended beyond campus to many local businesses, markets, kitchen supply stores, delis, Chipotle and even campusfood.com. And for those students unable to eat their fill of flex points, they could wash or read them away at the campus laundry facilities and bookstore. Sound vaguely familiar? It’s certainly a similar but less limited version of the campus card.

A flex points system would certainly encourage patronization of local businesses­—a concept that Wash. U. seems to support. There is certainly an abundance of student-populated restaurants and stores within easy walking distance: St. Louis Bread Company, Chipotle, Ben & Jerry’s and Schnucks are just a few favorite names. Furthermore, off-campus students would greatly benefit from some options closer to home than campus food when there is no time to cook. I would be happy to buy a greater number of flex points if these options were presented to me in conjunction with a lower number of compulsory meal points and reasonably low overhead charges.

This is likely where the largest obstacle comes into play: Flex points would only work most effectively if they were combined with a smaller meal plan. I’m no businesswoman, but I am sure that Bon Appétit holds some type of contractual protection against too great of competition. How could the prices at Bear Mart compete with Schnucks? They simply could not. And though we all love the BD burrito menu, the prices are much more comparable to Chipotle than the quality of said cuisine. Yet while we are talking economics, it’s also undeniable that Bon Appétit would retain the important convenience factor (Chipotle certainly is not open or accessible for 2 a.m. hunger calls). Students would enjoy the much-needed benefits of some good old-fashioned competition.

Considering Bon Appétit’s tight and ever-escalating hold over the campus food options, I remain perhaps unrealistically idealistic about the possibilities for flex points at Wash. U. For now, I continue to use every point of my off-campus meal plan at the only place on campus where I feel my choices are abundantly endless: Subway.