THE ISSUE: One of the biggest considerations when deciding whether to live off-campus is, of course, food. Do you want to stay on-campus and enjoy the convenience and variety of the dining halls? Or would you rather brave it off-campus and risk shirking a visit to the grocery store for takeout every other night? To help you decide, two members of the editorial board weigh in on the pros and cons.
When it comes to convenience for students who live in dorms, on-campus dining cannot be beat; but in all other aspects, off-campus dining is far superior. Lenoir and Ram’s Head just can’t compete with the price, variety and hours of off-campus options.
First, let’s talk about price. The cheapest price per meal you can get with a UNC meal plan is $5.33 and that’s only if you go with the unlimited number of “all-you-care-to-eat” meals. If you choose a smaller plan, as many students choose to do, you will pay even more per meal. Students who get 8 meals a week end up paying more than eight dollars a meal.
Now, my favorite venue on Franklin — Cosmic Cantina — only charges $3.33 for a regular veggie burrito. You do the math. It wouldn’t be hard to spend more than $8 on a meal on Franklin, but at least you have that choice. You could also save yourself even more money by just cooking at home. When you buy a meal plan you have no choice but to spend more.
Variety also makes off-campus dining better. You want a taco? Go to Banditos. Feeling like pizza? Stop by Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta. Craving some Asian? 35 Chinese is always an option. When you have a meal plan, you are limited to whatever the powers that be decide is for dinner.
You have to give UNC dining services some credit for trying to accommodate as many people as possible with vegan and vegetarian dishes. And they do mix it up every once in a while with ethnic theme nights, but in most cases you are stuck eating whatever is on the menu, even if you really wanted something else.
And let us get real: What is usually on the menu (besides those chocolate cookies upstairs in Lenoir) is usually utterly unappetizing and hardly worth the time and effort it takes to be swiped in and wade through the crowds.
Finally, dining halls just cannot compete with the hours of many off-campus dining options. Rams Head is open until midnight Sunday through Thursday, but if you want to eat something late at night on one of the most popular nights to do so, you are going to be out of luck. Closing early on weekends is one of the biggest problems with dining halls.
College students love drunk food and meal plans do not accommodate this demand. Rams and Lenoir cannot keep up with Franklin street venues on the weekends if they are not open.
