Student Senate met Wednesday to discuss changing traditional meal periods and capping textbook prices.
The Senate passed a resolution to alter the limit on meal swipes for students holding a traditional meal plan. Currently, meal swipes are redeemable once per three-hour meal period. The resolution strives to change that to a limit of five meal swipes per day rather than the hourly limit to allow for more food flexibility within student schedules.
Academic Affairs Vice Commissioner Shana Collins said the bill would allow students with or without eating disorders to eat as needed rather than within timetable restrictions.
Collins cited figures from the National Eating Disorder Association, estimating if the OU student population is representative of the U.S. population, around 1,800 students may have eating disorders for which the current mealtime restrictions prove barriers to food access.
The resolution must be approved by Dean of Students Kathy Fahl, the rest of OU’s deans, the Faculty Senate, and OU President Lori Stewart-Gonzalez before implementation.
Max Bailey, a student sponsoring the bill, said there is no current implementation date if the aforementioned figures approve it.
The Senate also passed a bill to cap textbook costs at $200 per class. Academic Affairs Commission research found that students spend an average of $868 per academic year on textbooks.
The bill cited a survey of 107 students, in which 72% of respondents paid for their textbooks themselves, and 53% spent between $50 and $200 for the Fall 2024 semester. 83% of respondents also said textbooks are a financial burden regardless of who pays for them.
The bill states that professors cannot mandate that physical textbooks be purchased for classes beyond the $200 per course limit. Instead, professors must seek and provide legal, free alternatives to accessing course material and allow students to access their computers to access online course material.
Under the resolution, textbooks available via the library would not be able to be checked out but would instead be on layaway. Layaway means students are permitted to come and use a resource at their leisure within the library space and make copies of it for external use.
As with the previous resolution, all OU college deans and the OU Faculty Senate must approve the bill before it can be passed on to President Gonzalez’s office for full approval and implementation.
Culinary Services presented services and opportunities available to students through the department, as well as a program OU’s chef staff is participating in to further OU’s sustainability goals. Culinary Services is also the largest student employer on campus.
Culinary Services' chef team is one of two in Ohio participating in the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, a sustainability effort focusing on dining facilities on university campuses worldwide. OU’s chef team is also a member of the American Culinary Federation's team.
Culinary Services leadership also discussed the Better Bobcat Box plan, which allows sick students to lend their student IDs to friends to get boxed meals in exchange for a meal swipe each to bring back to the sick student without having to go to the dining halls.
The presentation concluded by discussing the Culinary Services Development Committee, an intermediary forum for students to share feedback with the department’s staff to better assess student needs and which needs require further investment.
“We’re going to be spending university money somewhere in our developments,” Culinary Services Executive Director Frank Pazzanese said. “I want people to voice their opinions before we go to do so.”
Senate President Dan Gordillo raised concerns about the value of a meal swipe—currently $6.75—concerning inflation rates and the overall value of the dollar. Pazzanese said Culinary Services has discussed that, citing plans to increase the value of meal swipes next semester after the department concludes its research and decides on a new price.
After Culinary Services’ presentation, Hali Burleson, senior project manager and planner for the JED Foundation’s campus, spoke to the Senate. The JED Foundation, named after a student who died by suicide, is an organization seeking to implement a four-year mental health evaluation plan.
Burleson said this semester, JED is conducting a 250-question baseline assessment for counseling staff and has just opened a student questionnaire that closes Nov. 13. Next semester, JED will use survey results to create a mental health plan to assess substance misuse, mental health resources and suicide prevention.
Burleson said the survey will be sent via email rather than a QR code. She encouraged students to check their inboxes for an informational email containing their link to the survey.
Senate moved to vote on multiple resolutions following the JED Foundation presentation.
