ALEXANDRIA NIEVES and DAN ORZECHOWSKI
Special to The Leader and News Editor
This year’s number of incoming students has made a major impact in Fredonia’s Faculty Student Association’s (FSA) decision-making. Last semester Tim Hortons and Centre Point saw their hours trimmed, but now that student enrollment has bounced back, things may change once again.
Darin Schulz, who has been the Executive Director of Faculty Student Association for six years, said that FSA’s main goal is “not to go hungry.”
“We reduced the hours [for Tim Hortons]. It was a difficult decision. It was something we did not want to do, but when we took a look at the amount of volume of cash compared to Tim Hortons and Starbucks, Starbucks had the greater volume of cash,” said Schulz.
As FSA focused on making sure that money was made, Tim Hortons took one for the team and had its hours slimmed. According to Schulz, it was either this or increasing the cost of meal plans.
“We did not want to raise meal plans to students last year,” said Schulz. “That was a directive that we had in place that we were not going to have a meal plan increase”
Cafes in Fenton, McEwen, and Mason hall also saw their hours diminish to keep meal plans afloat.
Although Schulz is the executive director of FSA, he is still required to speak with higher management.
“I also report to a board of directors. The board of directors ultimately approves the budget, approve hours of operation and approve the meal plan prices,” he said.
According to Schulz, Tim Hortons may re-extend its hours, allowing the business to run past 5 p.m.
“We are in our budget process right now. We had our first budget meeting last week, so we’re starting this whole process, and I can tell you that we’re proposing to increase the hours for Tim Hortons” said Schulz.
The proposal has been made, now it’s in the hands of the board of directors.
While hours face renegotiating, food prices (particularly at Centre Point) are expected to remain the same. Students have pointed out the dining hall’s prices, which may come across as too high.
Schulz acknowleged campus food prices and admitted that students may have to manage their meal points carefully.
“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “We price our prices based on food costs. We charge a certain mark-up on top of the cost of production. We’re trying to keep our prices as low as possible, but we’re also not going to sacrifice quality.”