The Master of the Meal Plan

Walk into any JMU dining hall and you’ll see an array of delicious food. Year after year JMU is national recognized for its efforts in campus dining. However, what doesn’t get recognized year after year are the meal plans and procedures that students must understand to buy this nationally renowned food.

Emily Webber, a freshman at JMU, experienced the difficulties of JMU meal plans first hand. “I really had no idea what dining dollars or flex even was,” she said. “I was so confused at what I could buy and what I would have to pay more for, and how.”

Unlike schools like Virginia Tech or other Virginia schools, JMU has a very unorthodox system of buying meals. Other Virginia schools allow students to use their ID cards as debit cards basically.

JMU employs a punch system. These punches are what primarily make up a student’s meal plan. Meal plans can range from 14 punches a week, to 10, or to 7. A punch has a monetary value of $5.00.

When a student walks into a dining hall, there are certain meals that are worth purely a punch. These meals range from pasta at PC Dukes or a salad at Festival.

But, when a student wants to go off the beaten track and buy something with a little more food, they’ll have to use their dining dollars.

Dining dollars are supplementary money that is added into a student’s meal plan, depending on the plan. For example, if a student has a 14 punch a week meal plan, it will come with 150 Dining Dollars.

So let’s say a student wants to buy Chinese food at Festival. This meal will cost about $8.00. The student will use his or her punch for $5.00, and then use $3.00 of dining dollars to cover the difference.

It is not the easiest system to master. It is completely understandable how Webber was baffled by the system as a freshman. There is no real explanation of how everything works. The F.R.O.G’s during freshman orientation give students a condensed crash course but no one’s ever really listening to them or understanding what they’re saying.

Most students learn the system through trial and error, but mostly error.

However, there are students who have mastered the art of the meal plan.

Senior, Michael Koons, considers himself ahead of the curve when it comes to when and where to punch.

Unlike the novice “puncher,” Koons knows the ins and outs of the system. He has been on the 14 punch a week plan since he was a freshman.

Prior to this year, students with the 14 punch a week plan were only allowed to punch twice a day. This year they have lifted that restriction, allowing the students to have more freedom to eat when they want.

Michael Koons has taken advantage of this new rule.

The rule that lies in place today is that a student can punch twice before 3:30 and twice after, if he or she so pleases. Because he lives off campus and doesn’t want to go back to eat, Koons makes use of the unheard of “Quadruple Punch.”

“I go into Dukes or Festival at around 3:15 and double punch,” Koons says. “Then I just sit at a table with my food and wait until 3:30 and double punch again. Now I have four punches worth of food at my apartment in one trip to the dining hall.”

Many people think that the meal system makes this harder for students, with the time restrictions and things like that. But Koons, however, has found a way to make his life easier with the new system and rules that have been put into effect.

Being the “Master of the Meal Plan,” I asked Koons if he was ever confused by the system.

“I was confused for maybe a day when I was a freshman here,” Koons said. “After realizing once how it works, it’s really not that hard to master.”

If not going back to his apartment to eat, Koons will almost always make the decision to eat at the buffet-style dining halls like D-Hall or E-Hall.

“Why would I use a punch on one burger at Burger Studio when I could go to E-hall and have as burgers I want for a punch,” said Koons.

Making the most out of your punches is a key characteristic of mastering the punch system.

Most students never make it to the level of mastery that Michael Koons has reached, but he left me with some words of wisdom to share.

“I think the punch system makes things easier. You see that punch logo on the sign and I know I can get all that food for just one simple swipe of my JAC card.”

Great Deals at Dave's

Beer tastes better outside.  That is a fact.  Spring has certainly sprung and everyone is ready to break out the flip-flops, the sunglasses, and hit downtown with friends.  There are lots of places to enjoy a nice cold one outside in Harrisonburg.  However, if your like me, and only have about $20 left in your bank account, Dave’s Taverna is definitely the place to go.

After an agonizingly long day stuck in Carrier library, the started to peak through the clouds, begging people to come out and enjoy it.  After getting as much studying done as possible, three of my friends and I decided to ditch our studies and hit downtown.  I was a little apprehensive because I didn’t have that much money to spend.  My friends reassured me that it would be worth it at Dave’s.

When we got to the restaurant, the hostess knew right away where we wanted to sit. The taratsa.  We climbed the spiral staircase, through the upstairs dining room, and were lead outside to the rooftop deck.  As the door swung open, the sky was perfectly blue with a great view of the Downtown Court Square.

The taratsa is a great place to enjoy a beer outside.  There was a good crowd there for a an early afternoon, but it didn’t affect our experience in a negative way at all.  They had music playing in the background that was set at the best volume.  It wasn’t too loud where you are yelling at the person sitting next to you.  They had heaters just incase the temperature dropped, but my group had sweaters and were comfortable.

Our 5:30 p.m. arrival time could not have been any better.  The menu read “Happy Hour is from 4-9.”  According to Do Downtown, it has some of the best deals in town.  The discounts Dave’s offers during Happy Hour are absolutely perfect for the struggling college student.  The beer prices were from $2.75 to $5.75 for a 24 oz. beer.  They also offer $2.75 rail drinks as well.  Unfortunately, they do not allow pitchers on the rooftop, but you are still getting a sweet deal.

The selection of beer at Dave’s is pretty decent.  My friends and I all have different preferances when it comes to beer.  They the 24 oz. bottle with a frozen glass.  The serving size is perfect when you are with a group of friends so we could all taste test each other’s. 

The waiter was extremely helpful at offering us his own opinions and knowledge about the beers the restaurant served.  The menu didn’t have any real description about the beer, but our waiter was ready and extremely helpful to our table distinct IPA’s from lighter brews and so on.

I ordered a Shock Top Belgian white.  It is a wheat ale that is perfect for springtime rooftop relaxing with your friends.  The waiter told me it has orange, lemon and lime peels in it, that helps give it a lighter feel.  They serve it with an orange slice to help bring out the flavors.  Other beers that my friends ordered were Blue Moon, Yuengling, and Newcastle.  Each of us ordered about 2-3 beers.  No one had a bill exceeding $12.

If you are on a limited budget, and are looking to unwind outside with your friends, Dave’s Taverna is one of the best deals in Harrisonburg!


- Kendall B.

A Well-Hidden Gem : Costco

In the springtime on college campuses, the fabled “dayger” comes alive. What Is a “dayger,” you may ask? Why, a day rager of course!

A day full of drinking outside in the lovely weather with your best friends will leave you exhausted, and more importantly, very hungry.

Should you eat somewhere on campus? No… it’s Friday and you’re out of punches again. None of your friends can punch for you either because everyone’s out of punches. Why does this always happen!?

Someone mentions Dona Rosa for dinner but you don’t want to get anywhere near tequila and you only have $5 in your pocket. What do you do? Where do you go for a filling and delicious meal?

Costo.

           

Seriously, Costco! If you have a membership card, you get access to $1.50 foot long hot dogs and $1 slices of delicious hot pizza. Both of these deals come with a drink! They have soft serve ice cream that you can get blended into a delicious fruit sundae for 99 cents, too. I went to Costco last week and spent $3 and left so full.

If you plan your visit out right, you also get access to the best part of Costco… the samples. When I went last week, I got Brie cheese on baguette, chicken salad, lentil chili, potato chips, carrot cake, and crackers with mango habenero jelly.

They have different samples out each week so it's pretty hard to hit the same samples twice. That is, unless you go back through for another round before you leave the store, which we absolutely did. We even got samples of dishwashing detergent!

Next time you’re hungry and need a lot of food for not a lot of money, don’t go to a lousy fast food restaurant. Hit up Costco and get the best bang for your buck! 

-Beckie

The Red Solo Cup: An Icon in College Culture

If you go to any college party anywhere in the United States, you will undoubtedly drink from or see a red solo cup. The color of red illuminates the large crowds and projects the universal sign of, its time to party. But why has this cup become such a staple in college culture?

Some argue that we are conditioned from seeing the cups so often that we don’t see any other alternative for a drinking receptacle. We have been exposed to the cups so much that it’s almost as though we are brainwashed into buying them off the shelves.

Others say that it is because of the versatility of the cup that makes them so desirable. The red color hides any suspicion of what you’re drinking and the new and improved gripped sides allow for a non-slip cup when wet. These features appeal especially to the avid beer athlete, whether it be beer pong or flip cup.

The red cups have been glorified even more with the release of Toby Keith’s hit country song, “Red Solo Cup.”

Though these reasons do ring true, I think there is something else going on here with red solo cups. Going back to my first point, I think people are drawn to the cups for what they represent. If the floor of your apartment isn’t scattered with red solo cups the morning after a party, it almost feels as though the party has failed or just wasn’t that good.

It comes back to our human nature of wanting to fit in. When you walk into a party and everyone has a red solo cup in their hand, you rush to find one so you can fit in with the party and begin your consumption. No one wants to be “that guy” standing in the corner without a cup. The cups create an association with having a good time and fitting in with the cool crowd.

Even in my own experience, when I hear that we don’t have any cups as we begin the night, I almost feel depressed or anxious until someone runs out and gets some. It is strange phenomenon how a simple cup can evoke such emotion.

It seems as though people only drink out of a red solo cup when they are drinking at a party. The party culture has become so saturated with red solo cups that when we’re not at a party, we don’t even want to drink out of them.

It was just announced this March that Dart Container Corporation had bought Solo for an estimated $1 billion. Who would think that the plastic cup would be a billion dollar industry?

These red cups make up a staggering 60% of all of Solo’s sales.

So next time you go to a party and grab a red solo cup, ask yourself why you’re really drinking from that cup…

posted by Adam Okimatsu

Gourmet for Ten Dollars?!

While lying in bed one weekend, I discovered an amazing TV show on the Food Network called “Ten Dollar Dinners.” This lady whips up gourmet meals that will feed a family of four for under $10, and I don’t even mean that it’s $10 each. Ten dollars to feed four people. The only idea I could ever come up with for that price is a meal consisting of ramen.

My first encounter with this show, she cooked a steak dinner. I was amazed. I was hooked. I wanted to try.

I went to the show’s website and discovered SO MANY recipes to try. One, super buttered noodles, seemed too easy and obvious. I wanted a challenge.

Black bean brownies? That actually sounded so gross to me so I had to pass that one up too.

Crispy-skinned chicken a l’orange. Bingo. Seeing as I actually had ten dollars to spend because I am ultra poor, this seemed like a great idea.


My sorority sisters and I made this for dinner one night and it was amazing. You can find the recipe here. I ended up spending a little over ten dollars, but that's just because we don't cook and didn't have any of the "kitchen essentials" such as vegetable oil (really) and honey.

Ours didn't turn out looking exactly like the picture, but it was delicious regardless. It tasted a lot like orange chicken that you can get at any Chinese restaurant, but I imagine it is a lot healthier.

There are so many recipes to choose from on the show's website.

I plan on making more of these budget-friendly recipes in the future because they're just so tasty and affordable. I'd recommend the show to any of my friends, and I to all of you.

Happy cooking!
-Beckie

JMU Students: Anything but lazy!

It is the final 2 weeks of school.  It is time for exams, projects, cramming, library-ing and everything in between.  Food is an extremely important aspect to finals week.  I can speak from experience that it is super easy and quick to just grab a Starbucks triple espresso and a number 3 from McDonald’s to satisfy my nutritional needs and more importantly to save time to study.  However, I hope to offer some healthier and just as fast alternatives to the typical Red Bull and McNuggets meal.

A recent article from the Daily Mail from the UK suggests that water is the key to exam success.  The article mentioned that water can help increase the “flow between brain cells” helping students better retain information.  It is extremely important to remember to drink water during times of stress and studying to avoid becoming dehydrated.  

Thanks to an article from Champlain College too much coffee or Red Bulls will cause fatigue, headaches which will really waste time for finals week.

A healthy snack for finals week is also extremely important.  I know many of you need something sweet to munch on while memorizing Spanish vocab or chemical equations.  Thanks to blog on Food Sense I found an extremely awesome recipe for Lazy Bars.  For the busy student, these are PERFECT. 

The trickiest part to these lazy bars are to find the ingredients at the store.  With the helpful employees at Martin’s, I was able to get every item on the list.  This snack is vegan, so they require no eggs or dairy.  I am not a vegan personally, but this is a very healthy alternative to a glazed doughnut or Milkshake.

Ingredients are:

1 cup, flour

1/2 cup, brown sugar

3 tablespoons, almond milk

1 teaspoon, cinnamon

5 tablespoons, Earth Balance butter

6 tablespoons, chocolate chips

3 tablespoons, crushed raw pecans

4 tablespoons, pumpkin butter

2 tablespoons, unsweetened shredded coconut

The best part about preparation for the Lazy Bars is you just have to use the microwave!  No oven required, which will help save time for you to get back to studying!

To make Lazy Bars, you need a large microwavable bowl.  You need to combine all the basic ingrediants: flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and the Earth Balance butter.  Mix the ingredients well all around the bowl to cover the bottom completely.  Microwave for 3 minutes.

After the 3 minutes, add in chocolate chips, pumpkin butter, pecans and coconut.  Microwave for another 6 minutes.  Then, just eat straight from the bowl!

I sat back down with all my books, highlighters and index cards, and dove right into the bowl.  I have declared that this is my new favorite dessert!  It is not too sweet or not sweet enough.  The coconut and pecans really make the dish!  And it was just too easy to make!

The recipe gives room for plenty of individuality.  I really like pecans, so I added a few extra to my recipe.  For many chocolate lovers, I’m sure you can add a few extra!  It is easy to double the ingredients for study parties as well!

Good luck to all studying!  Don’t forget your Nalgene of water!

- Kendall B.

Coffee: Drug or Beverage?

For those of you, like me, who don’t want to snort lines of Adderall, coffee is the next best solution. In those tough early mornings when you want nothing less than to go to class, a strong coffee is all you need.

However, not just any coffee will suffice. If it’s not a Starbucks coffee, you’ll only be wanting more. The boldness of the Starbucks taste is something that really wakes you up.

There are a lot of options or directions to go in to fit your style of coffee drinking. You can go classic with a Grande bold roast. This is my personal favorite. The bolds range from the Sumatra to the Komodo Dragon. They may sound a little intimidating, but they’ll never let you down.

If you don’t feel like having a hot coffee, order an iced one. I enjoy a good iced coffee, but I tend to drink them too fast. I always order them with a shot of espresso as well for an extra kick because the iced coffee is a weaker blend. The combination of drinking it fast and having espresso in it makes me go nuts. I start to shake and the whole point of having a coffee is defeated.

If you really want to enjoy the coffee, don’t load it up with milk and sugar. These additives only mask the true taste of the coffee. Also, if you throw a lot of sugar in, it may upset your stomach. The caffeine will do this in itself sometimes, so any added sugar may leave you feeling a little queasy.  

During finals week, coffee may be your most important beverage. If you’re like me, you will begin to depend on coffee to get your work done.

I know I said that you want to stay away from Adderall, but coffee becomes as much of a drug as Adderall is. My body starts to crave the caffeine and I physically feel tired without it.

If you have never experienced the advantages of coffee, you are in for a revolution. I will warn you though, once you start your coffee-drinking career, expect to be in it for the rest of your life. 

Dinaah for the end of the semestahh

I love how the last few weeks of school force me to become extremely domesticated. With limited punches, a tight budget, and having spent all my dining dollars on Starbucks, I have to resort to cooking for myself. This can be dangerous. Some may call me a culinary-challenged individual, and I couldn’t agree more. Popcorn and oatmeal are just few of my masterpiece dishes.

I decided to face my fears. The dish: baked ziti, bread, and asparagus.

Thanks to Southernfood.about.com and Allrecipes.com both websites provided me with really simple ingredients for the dish.

Penne pasta

Vodka sauce

Ricotta cheese

Mozerella cheese

Lucky for me and my lack of culinary skills, the dish is super easy to make. More specifically, this dish does not have a difficult or long preparation. You cook the noodles, and add all the ingredients to a cooking dish. Set the oven at 350-375 degrees. It does require a solid 30-45 minutes to bake.

With my mother on stand-by via speakerphone, she gave me some really good advice about the noodles. The trick is to not cook them all the way. You want to keep the noodles a little harder so when they bake in the oven they will come out soft.

The asparagus is even easier to prepare and cook. I was not sure which was the best way to go about cooking the

asparagus. This page on Buzzle gave me plenty of options. I chose to boil the asparagus.

I was able to learn something new about the vegetable. This site offered a really good tip about rinsing the asparagus in cold water after they have been cooked so they stay crisp.

I had to subject my neighbor to come try the dish with me. It actually turned out really well. I could tell it was ready when the cheese on top was bubbling. The noodles were cooked just right, nice and soft. I added a little olive oil and pepper to give the asparagus a little kick.

I am in no way shape or form a Paula Dean or an Emerald when it comes to cooking. This is a perfect simple meal for college students. However the only drawback is that it is not a quick meal. Make sure your homework is done before you start cooking!