The other day I went to a talk by a prospect for the Physics department next year.  There were a good mix of students and professors in attendance.  Of course we had pizza to eat too.  A lot of times people will joke that a student could go almost a whole year here without having to buy a lunch.  This would be due to all the meetings and talks that are held for students, all serving pizza for lunch.  I had to make sure I got enough pizza because I would be missing lunch at the Sparks center.  This isn’t because I’m ecstatic about the meals at Sparks.  It’s because we have an awful meal plan in which I’m left to suffer the costs of a meal I never consumed.  You’d think I might be able to use my “unused” meals at the Scarlet Inn later that day, but if I do so I can’t use my meal for dinner in the same evening at Sparks because I’ve already “used” my dinner meal.  The same goes for if I’d eaten at Sparks for dinner but want to use my unused meal from lunch to grab a bite at the Scarlet.  I know this whole thing is arguable, but when it comes down to it, the full weak meal plan is very inconvenient for busy students.  Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten a full meal plan, but I’m not about to try and use my excuse of a room for a kitchen, especially when I’m here all but a few days the first semester.  Even if I didn’t want a meal plan, it’s required if you live on campus.  I apologize for the complaints but they are important things for future students to know about.  We, the students, have managed to improve a lot of the aspects of meal at Sparks over time and still are working to.