Quaker Cards. They are the keys to Guilford College, unlocking a variety of uses for students through a variety of means.

“(The Quaker Card) is a lot of things,” said Support Services Manager Rex Harrell, who acts as card manager for the college. “It’s a library card; it’s your security ID; it’s for dining services; it’s tied to copying; it gives you door access.”

However, some of the uses tied to Quaker Cards are not as popular among students.

“We’re told that Quaker Cash is such a great thing when we come here, but not many places actually take it,” said junior Johnathan Crass. “And meal plans just aren’t worth it. I felt limited with meal plans — I’d either come up short or not use enough meals every week.”

Crass’s sentiment is shared by many students. In a survey conducted by The Guilfordian, 48 out of 100 respondents said that they do not have a meal plan. Furthermore, 70 respondents said that they do not use Quaker Cash (either Community Dollars or Campus Dollars).

Regarding meal plans, many students believe that the plans are not worth it.

“I don’t like how the meal plans don’t roll over from week to week,” said first-year Will Batchelor. “If you miss a meal, it’s just a waste of money.”

Under the current meal plan system, if one factors out Grill Cash, the cheapest meal plan per meal is the Quaker MAX (19 meals per week), which works out to about $6.50 a meal. The other plans — the 14 meal plan, the 10 meal plan, and the 5 meal plan — work out to about $8.04, $8.75, and $12.31 per meal, respectively.

“The meal plans are a great deal,” said Vice President for Administration Jon Varnell. “Take the 19 meal plan. Try to eat 19 meals a week for the same price for a semester. You’d be eating McDonald’s every meal. For the price, you can’t match the quality, the variety, and the health of what we have at Guilford.”

Varnell also commented on the reasons for the price of meal plans.

“This is about getting the college’s expenses covered, regardless of how that’s charged,” Varnell said. “It’s the same with other things; you don’t just look at the pure construction costs when you build a building. Guilford students need to look at the total cost of education.”

However, Varnell does not see the value in every plan.

“The five meal plan is awful,” Varnell said. “I don’t know why anyone would choose it. It’s going away next year.”

Varnell referred to tentative new meal plans Guilford expects to offer students next year. The 5 meal plan is being removed and replaced with a 75 meal block plan for $515. With this plan, students will be able to use their meals at any time during the semester, rather than having a weekly allotment.

Similarly, there will be a 75-meal lunch block plan available to off-campus students and a 25- meal block plan for CCE students. There will be a Quaker MAX-Plus plan, which will include 100 “Dining Dollars” (formerly Grill Cash) and allot 19 meals per week.

The other meal plans will remain, but with slight price increases. Varnell says that these increases are not as substantial as increases at other colleges. Another change is that every student living on campus will be required to have a meal plan.

“Requiring every student on campus to have a meal plan allows Meriwether Godsey to provide better quality food and variety,” said Residential Living Coordinator Kris Gray. “If we don’t have many kids on a meal plan, we can’t pay to get the stuff students want to see.”

Community Dollars is another underused utility of Quaker Cards.

“This type of card is for student convenience and having (finances) all in one place,” said Associate Vice President for Finance Jimmy Wilson. “It gives you everything on one card. Parents can put money on one card and it’s very convenient.”

Currently, the Guilford website lists seven merchants that accept Community Dollars. Other merchants have dropped.

“Blackboard, our card services provider, is pretty pricey,” Harrell said. “They charge both the college and the merchant per transaction. Jams dropped us because they didn’t think it was worth it.”

With limited options, many students just do not use Community Dollars.

“I don’t use Quaker Cash as much anymore,” Crass said. “It doesn’t feel as bad as using ‘real money,’ but it’s still not that useful.”

With students expressing concerns about meal plans and Quaker Cash, the administration is aware of the issues. But for now, students can only stay informed and continue to use their Quaker Card to unlock what they need.