Iona College is home to a marvelous mass of students. Each Gael has a different personality and different interests. The one thing, however, that every student can agree on – besides a disliking of Jaspers – is a love for food!

Food is fantastic. There are so many different types of food with an assortment of different flavors, colors and textures. If it was humanly possible, I would eat 24/7.

Luckily, Iona provides a pretty solid roster of eating establishments to satisfy their hungry students. If students want an off-campus meal, they can go to Smokehouse, Beechmont, Avenue Deli and Café or Gemellis. If they want on-campus food, students can go to the LaPenta Student Union or the Vitanza Commons.

Opinions on college dining halls are often polarizing – kids either love them or detest them. Personally, I do not mind the on-campus food at Iona. I do not think I will be having Chartwells cater my wedding, but I do enjoy the food they serve.

One particular aspect of the on-campus dining that I believe could be changed is the way that we pay for our food. At Iona, students pay for meals individually using the money placed on their meal cards. Instead of having money on meal cards, I believe Iona should have swipes.

In a swipe-based dining system, students have a certain amount of “swipes” on their meal card. A swipe allows entry into the dining hall. Once inside, students are free to take as much food as they desire.

I believe a swipe-based dining system would be beneficial to all students. First, it would help students save money. As an athlete, I eat a ton. After swim practice, I head straight to the dining hall to replenish my body with multiple meals. The excessive amount I need to eat to refuel results in a rapid evaporation of my meal plan dollars. As a result, I keep needing to put money on my meal card. If the dining halls were swipe-based, I would be able to eat as much food as I need.

Swipes would also benefit people who don’t eat as much. Frequently, students will have lots of money leftover on their meal plan because they don’t eat a lot. They are paying the school money to get a meal plan when they do not put it to good use. With swipes, they would be making use of their money by using it when enter the dining hall regardless the size of their appetite.

I also think a swipe system would promote on-campus dining. If students were allowed as much food as they wanted, they might be inclined to eat on campus more often.

However, there are some downsides to a swipe system. What happens if a student wants to hang out with friends who are eating, but isn’t hungry? Do they have to waste a swipe just to get in? Additionally, given the possibility that the dining hall would be going through more food – the price of swipes might be more expensive. There are also a number of ways a student might be able to take advantage of the system.

Personally, I believe a swipe-based meal plan would be a cool idea for Iona to experiment with. I had a great experience with swipes when I visited a friend at Manhattan College, so although I dislike Jaspers, I do love food – and a swipe-based meal plan.