The meal card is an essential part of campus life. Students have the ability to choose from a laundry list of North Avenue establishments, tax free.

Its’ users reap the benefits, and business owners rake in cash but restaurant employees find it to be a huge burden.

Iona’s policy for its meal card vendors does not allow for extra tip money to be applied to the card.

Students who use the meal card to dine out regularly don’t always bring enough cash to tip for service.

Some opt out of leaving any tip at all.

This leaves those who serve them frustrated and with a lighter pocket.

“In the contract between Iona and North Avenue vendors, it states that tipping cannot be added to the meal card,” Director of Business Services Joan Clark said.

“Meal card money is exclusively for food and non-alcoholic beverages.”

Sophomore Dianna Carozza uses her meal card regularly.

Carozza said she doesn’t think about bringing extra cash because she always just makes sure she has her meal card.

“That’s the only thing I use to pay for food,” said Carozza.

“I don’t actually feel that I’m going to a real restaurant.”

Despite the rule, the question “can I add a tip on the card?” is still asked regularly.

“It is silly that people still ask that. It isn’t September anymore,” Leanna Gryak, a junior and server said.

“It’s well into second semester, everyone should know how it goes by now.”

Gryak said she’s aware of the mindset of most card users but hopes they become better informed about the situation.

“I understand that meal cards are a quick and easy way to pay. They don’t see why they should tip in a place that takes the meal cards, but for our sake it’s critical,” said Gryak

“Sometimes I get up to about 6 to 7 tables that don’t tip, per shift.”

In New York State, servers work for a lower salary than that of any other job.

Minimum wage for a server is $5 per hour.

It is safe to say they cannot live off of this type of paycheck alone.

Tips are crucial and without them, they would not be able to stay in the jobs they have now.

Brianna Mancini, another local server, described the feeling of not being tipped again and again as “miserable.”

“We don’t get a shift pay so tips are completely what we work off of. Tips are crucial to make any money here,” said Mancini.

“A lot of students will leave nothing on the table, or just leave one dollar, no matter the quality of service.”

Mancini said that even parents expect their kids to give a cash tip as well.

“A girl didn’t leave a tip with her card. Her mom came back a few hours later, really upset that she hadn’t left anything,” Mancini said.

“She was really apologetic.”

Servers depend on tips, whether their customers are using the Iona meal plan or not.

A suggested percentage of the bill to determine a tip includes; 10% for poor service, 15% for average service, 20% for excellent service, and 25% for outstanding service.

The next time you are dining out with your meal card, bring cash, and consider your server’s performance when choosing how many bills to leave on the table.