Often, with so many club meetings, rush events, sports practices and all the other things in between, it’s not rare to find yourself having to skip a proper meal in college. Duke’s solution to that is equivalency. If you’re in a rush, you can simply exchange your Marketplace “swipe” to get a meal at Trinity Cafe or select locations on West Campus.
It sounds nice in theory. You don’t have to run half a mile so that you can have just barely enough time to sit down for a rushed meal. You can simply grab everything you need to-go, and get on the bus without running into the inevitable human traffic jams at the bus stop.
However, thousands of freshmen have raised complaints about the flawed equivalency system — myself included. Under this system, if you want to exchange your Marketplace swipe — one where you would get a full buffet-style meal — for a meal equivalency, you get only $5.70 for breakfast and $10.90 for dinner. Your breakfast options are either Trinity Cafe, Skillet, or Marketplace (from noon onwards). Your dinner options are Trinity Cafe or a Board Plan swipe at Freeman Center Cafe.
The main problem? The value of meal equivalency is simply not enough for a nutritious meal.
With the current equivalency rate, students cannot buy a sandwich without going over the price limit. If you want to add coffee or even water to a breakfast pastry, you're way out of the equivalency range, and will have to pay out of pocket with food points. At that rate, it’s not too difficult to quickly run through your food points, making it an unsustainable design for students.
I can’t help but feel disappointed with the way Duke has designed its equivalency system. At a "work hard, play hard" school like Duke, I’m constantly on the move; it’s difficult to squeeze time to even eat properly. Having just a cup of yogurt and an apple simply just isn’t enough to get through over 4 hours of classes. On top of that, Duke is supposed to be renowned for its amazing dining options — and I feel that my freshmen experience hasn’t lived up to it quite fully simply due to the restrictions placed by the equivalency system.
The pricing isn’t the only issue. Trinity Cafe also doesn’t open until 8 a.m. on weekdays, so for students with an 8:30 a.m. class, it’s almost impossible to time correctly with the frequent bus traffic. On weekends, it’s even more problematic; Trinity Cafe doesn’t open until noon. When I had a morning interview for a club, I couldn’t even have breakfast in East Campus, so I had to ride the bus all the way to West for my only other option — The Skillet. At The Skillet, the only option that fits the $5.70 limit is an egg and cheese biscuit with one fruit. Behind the glass, I could clearly see the many breakfast-style options Skillet had — from French toast to omelets — but it was frustrating as those were not affordable and were out of reach.
Not only that, with the limitations on the types of foods students can afford with equivalency, those who are gluten-free and have allergies are faced with even more restrictions. If the $5.70 equivalency rate is firmly set, it’s not unreasonable for students to request more dining options to eat at. With allergen-free places like "It’s Thyme" and breakfast-inspired menus at "Sprout" or "Farmstead," expanding dining options could make student life easier.
All in all, increased dining options for freshmen is something many students feel passionate about. With the upcoming student government election, freshmen are eagerly anticipating a hopeful and much-needed reform to addressing its limitations and challenges.
Kate Yeonjae-Jeong is a Trinity first-year. Her pieces typically run on alternating Tuesdays.
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