Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
According to Director of Dining Services Linda McDougall, this isn’t a new question. “This has come up pretty much every year I have been here.”
She explained that the cost of implementing such a system would be prohibitively high. “First the shop in the Ville would have to pay $6,000 for each card swipe unit. In addition they would have to pay to have the system communicate with our system. In addition another position would have to be funded to manage such accounts. The cost of the meal plan would also increase since it would decrease Dining Service income and our fixed expenses would remain the same.”
So now you know. Would we actually use points in the Ville enough for it to be worth it? An important question, but one we can’t answer. If we could, you could Ask the Gazette by e-mailing dailygazette [at] swarthmore [dot] com.
