gest that a make-up day, or a day added on to the end of the semester, would be a preferred option.

Henry, who explained that he is “not responsible for the academic side of the institution,” had no official statement in response to such con- cerns. However, he reiterated his belief that the decisions on whether to attend or hold classes lies with the individual.

“Faculty members manage their own classes, and the students manage their own time,” he said. He also noted that it is better to hold a normal class for those students who do attend.

“This whole business is a bal- ancing act,” Henry emphasized, “Safety and practicality versus ‘we only have so many teaching days in a year, and they are tight as it is.”

“When you shut down for the day, that day is gone,” he added, refer- ring also to the research departments and other sections of the campus which share in the lost day.

Henry noted that there are 700 full-time staff at UPEI, about 250 of

which are faculty.

“The lost wages when UPEI shuts down are about $150,000 a day. That gives an idea of how much money gets spent everyday on cam- pus.”

Henry noted, however, that this is only one of the considerations to be factored in while making the decision.

One student, whe travelled from a rural area to find his only class cancelled on January 22nd, expressed his desire for “some easier way” to find out in advance, “to phone in ... or to have a checklist of classes can- celled on-line.”

“This has happened 3 or 4 times this semester,”continued the “irritated” student, “I’m not terribly pleased with the situation but what can you do?”

In other news: Shubenacadie Sam, the most relevant groundhog in relation to PEI, did not. see his shadow on February 2nd. It is to be assumed, then, that spring is six weeks away. The news editor, however, is not get- ting her hopes up.

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Cafeteria Conundrum by Clare HENDERSON

I am not a business student and therefore am not privy to the intri- cate details on how it is one should successfully run a business. However, I am a consumer and familiar with what it means to purchase something. When I buy a quantity of goods, I expect, upon providing monetary compensation, to be able to do with those goods as I see fit (within legal and ethical reason).

“What,” you might be won- dering, “does all this have to do with the Cafeteria?”

I realize that it is only the small percentage of students who live in residence that have the privilege of eating in the cafeteria on campus. This group may or may not be aware that the caf management has intro- duced a new rule: you are no longer permitted to put anyone on your meal card.

For those of you who have never been in the caf, let me explain. The UPEI meal card is not really a

card, but rather a piece of paper that

gets ticked every time you eat a meal. Depending on the meal plan you choose, you can eat either ten, four- teen, or nineteen meals a week, hav- ing that number of squares available for checking weekly.

Last term, if you had someone come a visit you, say a friend who lives off campus, or a relative, you could have that person use one space on your meal card. This new rule pre- vents this from happening. Why? That’s the $64 000 question.

Recently the management at the cafeteria finally responded to the numerous inquiries about this subject on a comment board in the caf. The response said three things concerning meal card use.

One, the staff has to keep track of how many people are in the caf. They only cook enough food for 171 people.

“If 171 people show up for lunch,” it said, “and twenty of those people bring friends, that’s 191 meals [we have to make],” meaning there would not be enough food to go

around. On the other hand, if 171 stu- dents show up to eat and twenty friends come and pay for their meal, amazingly enough, there’s food enough for all. I’ve already paid for my fourteen meals I should be able to do with them as I see fit.

Two, the rule has been in place since September but the staff had been making exceptions. However, a source within the caf informed me that the subject was brought up at an earlier staff meeting in September, and the manager said it

was alright for the students to put

friends on their cards! Why the sud- den change of heart?

When students miss a meal at the cafeteria, we are given a coupon for four dollars in Chartwell Cash. Even if we miss eight meals at the caf, we still only get four dollars in Chartwell Cash, because only four dollars can be given to one student per week. You can redeem this coupon at places on campus like the Pit for food or for a meal at the caf. This pertains to the third point in the response. It was pointed out that on the top of the meal card it states that “Only the reg-

istered user may use this card.”

This is apparently why we are given the coupon. I would be happy to use Chartwell Cash for my guests, but I can only get four dollars a week. Again, since we’re not eating meals we’ve already paid for, we should be getting a coupon per meal. |

I am also aware of the fact that there are those who put people on their meal cards and then “forget” the card the next day to recoup the loss. Why not prevent this by writing down the names of the people that forgot their cards, and ticking off the lost meal the next day?

The staff at the caf that inter- act with us daily help make it a pleas- ant environment, it’s the rule I have a problem with. We pay to use the cafe- teria services and so are entitled to a sensible reason why either we don’t get more Chartwell Cash or can’t put friends on the meal card. Tm still

waiting.