Meal Points 'Miscommunication' Leads to 1,500-Signature Petition, Refunds

BY: AMUDALAT AJASA AND LEAH CHIAPPINO

(Feb. 4, 2022) — Over 1,500 Hofstra students signed a social media petition posted last Friday, Jan. 28, decrying a series of signs which announced a university-wide ban on using meal points for toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other non-food necessities sold by campus stores. By the end of day Saturday, Hofstra took down all the signs, saying the entire ordeal was just a "miscommunication." It is unclear how long the signs had been up.

“Non-food items cannot be purchased using meal points,” the signs placarded across Dutch Treats said. Signs were also spotted at the Netherlands Core Cafe and the Student Center Starbucks. The mistake meant students were temporarily barred from using the money on their pre-paid, non-refundable Hofstra card to buy health and toiletry items such as tampons, body wash, pain reliever, laundry detergent, toilet paper and cleaning products from campus stores. The closest grocery stores are approximately a mile away from campus while major commercial stores like Target, Stop & Shop and Walmart are over two miles away.

A representative from the university’s dining service Compass Food Group told The Clocktower that the signs posted were merely a “miscommunication.” The spokesperson did not elaborate further on the policy or what miscommunication took place, nor between whom. 

Before the signs were taken down, The Clocktower found the policy had in fact been enforced. Jillian Tkaczyk, a junior journalism major, told The Clocktower she had tried to buy condoms at Dutch Treats on Friday, Jan. 28. “I was told I had to pay separately and not on my Hofstra card,” she said. She also provided The Clocktower with a receipt verifying the purchase. 

Kayla Johnson, a senior criminology major at Hofstra, is the creator of the petition that advocated for Hofstra to allow students to use their meal points on non-food options again. The petition gained over 1,000 signatures in the first 24 hours. Before it closed, Johnson’s petition had 1,500 signatures. 

“[It would be] unfair to the students that don't have cars to go off campus and get the necessary cleaning supplies and things that they need,” Johnson explained. “Not everybody has a car, not everybody has the money to go off campus.”

On Jan. 31, Johnson updated the petition to say Hofstra “reversed” the policy. A spokesperson for the university told The Clocktower that the signs were merely an “error” and said there are “no changes to the meal plan policy at this time.”

It was a sigh of relief for students like senior psychology major Kada Jackel, who had been worried by the confusion generated by the signage.  

“Being disabled is really really expensive, especially as a college student,” she said. “Even if you have to just make a quick Dutch run to go get Tylenol or cleaning supplies, using those meal points definitely helps, so that way you can save your actual money for things that you need, such as going to pick up prescriptions or stuff like that.”

Students who were charged for their items before the signs were taken down can obtain a refund or credit by reaching out to the Compass Resident District Manager at  jose.a.rodriguez@hofstra.edu.