After Princeton Changes Dining and Housing, Upperclassmen Push Back

Beginning next academic year, Princeton is requiring all students in University housing to select a Campus Dining meal plan, a change that is deeply unpopular with students across dining and residential groups.

In an email sent to the classes of 2027 and 2028 in late September, campus administrators outlined the changes. Juniors and seniors who live on campus and don’t belong to an eating club or co-op will have to purchase a plan that is unlimited or with 10 meals per week (Block 160), while upperclassmen in eating clubs or co-ops can opt for two meals per week (Block 32).

Aid will be adjusted for students on full financial aid to cover both meal plans, a move that responded to feedback from eating club leaders, according to University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss. Students receiving partial aid will receive an increase in their package, while students not on aid will see the charge added to their student account.

At a Sept. 29 Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) meeting, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said the University’s practice of providing two meals per week for students in eating clubs and co-ops will be eliminated in part due to ongoing budget reductions. “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” he said.

The University is also eliminating the “independent” status for room draw, removing priority from students who are not in an eating club or on a dining plan but want to live in Spelman Hall, where kitchens are more accessible.

Going forward, each student will receive one draw time, and all eligible rooms will appear, instead of multiple draws at multiple times. In an Oct. 7 information session, Debby Foster, deputy vice president for University services, said that giving those on the 10-meals-per-week plan priority for Spelman remains under discussion.

According to Eisgruber, “changes were driven by responsiveness to studies about well-being and what was needed for the University community.”

The change follows a 2024 study by the Huron Consulting Group, which proposed that the University require Campus Dining meal plans for all upperclassmen and review the independent status. It also builds on the University’s 2023 dining pilot, a program that provided 300 randomly selected juniors and seniors five free meal swipes per week across dining halls, eating clubs, co-ops, retail dining locations, and late meal to encourage more integrated dining.

After the September announcement, students voiced concerns via social media, information sessions, the CPUC meeting, and in The Daily Princetonian. Aster Haviland ’26, who has lived in Spelman for the past two years, told PAW, “We’re undergrad students, but we’re also adults. This choice to take away our ability to choose to be independent makes a lot of people feel like children.” His suite shared its opposition, decorating the windows with a sign that read, “Put Eisgruber on a Meal Plan.”

Leaders of the Interclub Council (ICC), the Graduate Interclub Council (GICC), campus co-ops, and the Undergraduate Student Government said they were not involved in the decision-making process for the updated dining plan, nor were they informed about it beforehand.

“We are concerned that decisions like this one — made without input from eating clubs — open the door for additional restrictive policies that may erode our ability to provide unique and beloved communities for students and alumni,” wrote Lilli Duberstein ’26, president of the ICC.

Hap Cooper ’82, president of the GICC, said the new policy violates an “unwritten agreement” that the University would not require students in eating clubs to buy meal plans. “They crossed a line,” he said.

Collin Guedel ’26, president of the 2 Dickinson St. Co-op, raised concerns about the dining hall options for students with dietary restrictions. Guedel and Abdur-Raheem Idowu ’26, president of the International Food Co-op, noted that co-op capacity is far lower than the number of students who typically declare independent. Eating club capacity has also shrunk with the temporary closure of Cloister Inn.

Students and alumni also advocated for the independent experience. Otis Jennings ’94, who wrote an opinion column for the Prince, recalled cooking and hosting dinners with friends in Spelman. While supportive of University efforts to increase well-being, he told PAW he thinks the new plan “will mean a stifling experience for students who find themselves as out-of-place in the conventional dining settings.”