Using your Tiger Card to pay for a meal on campus may be mindless to some, but to others it is a hot-button issue.
Three Auburn students filed a lawsuit Aug. 11 in Jefferson County against Chartwells, the company that handles dining on campus, claiming the Board of Trustees and Chartwell's parent group, Compass, USA, have entered into an illegal conspiracy in restraint of intrastate commerce.
Also named is Board of Trustees President Pro Tem Sarah Newton.
The lawsuit claims that the University's policy to charge a mandatory dining fee in addition to the cost of tuition is unfair, violating Code of Alabama section 6-5-60.
It states the mandatory dining plan at Auburn was implemented in July 2007 as a way to boost the University's revenue.
In 2007, the plan was known as "Dining Dollars," which gave students the option whether they wanted to spend this money, and only 991 students opted into the program, according to the lawsuit.
The Tiger Card could be used to purchase meals on campus, but select places off-campus also would accept payment in this way, as it acted as a debit card of sorts--not a mandatory predetermined amount as it would later become.
Beginning with the class of 2012, which started in Aug. 2008, the dining plan was made mandatory. Those who live on campus are charged $995 per semester, while off-campus students pay $300, both in addition to the cost of tuition.
"This is an unfair practice," said Dan Evans, of The Evans Law Firm, who is handling the case for the defense. "It hurts the students, the vendors and it makes it hard for any competition in Auburn."
One of the students who filed the lawsuit was required to spend nearly $2,000 to the food fund her freshman year in addition to tuition because she lived on campus.
All three students involved in the lawsuit claim they did not need nor want the dining plan, but it was imposed on them regardless.
They claim the plan was hardly of value to them because of inconvenient hours of operation, poor food selection and high prices.
Evans said it is too early to tell which way the case will go, as it was recently filed, but they believe they have a valid case and intend to go through with it.
The defendants are demanding $500 in damages paid for every instance of injury.
The lawsuit states this situation is exactly what antitrust laws were intended to prevent.
David Robinson, director of business development for auxiliary services, said Auburn's dining plan was implemented after extensive research, and it caters to students' needs.
"The dining plan is only there to take care of the students while they're on campus," Robinson said. "It was never intended to cover all of a student's meals."
Robinson explained dining services receive state funds, and the only way for students to have places they want, such as recognizable chains, is to pay for the dining plan.
"Auburn has been behind the times in regards to dining, and we had to grow quickly to accommodate students," Robinson said.
Robinson said all dining plan money not spent in the fall rolls over to the spring.
If the money is not spent in the spring, the student has until the end of the summer to spend it.
If they don't do so, the money goes right back into the dining program, not into the administration's pockets.
"Yes a fee is imposed, but it has great benefits," Robinson said. "The students are benefiting from the dining program."
He added there are exemptions to the meal plan, such as medical and religious exemptions, and students can apply for them with a form found on the Tiger Card website.
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