A hardware upgrade glitch has forced Tufts officials to abandon a Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate-Dining Services plan to add more restaurants to the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program this semester. The plan, which was devised last fall in response to growing student demand for more diverse food options, especially Chinese food, has been put off due to a necessary "unforeseen enhancement," according to Dining Services Director Patti Lee.
The MOPS plan currently allows Tufts students to use points to order takeout from four restaurants: Espresso's Pizza, Wing Works, the Near East Caf?©, and Urban Gourmet. When students began asking for a Chinese restaurant two years ago, the Senate and Dining Services began investigating the addition of a fifth restaurant to the program.
Local restaurants, such as the Blue Shirt Caf?© in Davis Square, have expressed interest in joining the MOPs program. Widespread rumors that the popular wrap and smoothie joint in Davis Square would be added to the program are not true, according to Lee, though Blue Shirt owner Deborah Wollheim expressed interested in joining the program.
A hardware constraint in Dining Service's computer system, which is currently limited to four off-campus ports, is the main cause of the delay. Since every student that uses their ID card to access their dining plan has an account on the computer network, each restaurant on the program must be linked to the Tufts-based network via modem. The modem has eight ports, all of which are currently committed - four ports for MOPS, one for a MOPS backup, and three for on-campus purposes.
Since Tufts uses expensive modem units that are only available in groups of eight, the entire computer system will need an overhaul and a memory upgrade in order to accommodate another restaurant. While the added cost of the upgrade was incorporated into this year's budget, there will not be enough money both to procure another modem and upgrade the computer system.
"We knew that [an upgrade] needed to happen, but we weren't aware that the other needed to happen. Now as we look at the two upgrades it makes sense that they need to happen at the same time, but the investment in dollars was more than I had planned," Lee said. "I hope it could happen by next semester, although I'm not sure of that."
With the advent of more flexible meal plans in the past year, the number of students eating on campus has grown. The Dining Service's computers were not prepared for increased student demand, and, as a result, have been recently bogged down.
"We've had the system for five years and are almost maxed out," Lee said.
One of the sources of the higher rates of use are the revamped meal plans that were designed to meet student demand for flexibility. These allow students on the Platinum plan unlimited access to the dining halls. In addition, Hotung, Brown and Brew, and the Commons have had their hours increased due to student complaints that they closed too early. Still, many students prefer to use points, or smaller meal plans that allow a wider array of dining options.
"If you get the actual meal plan you save money only if you go to the dining halls a lot," said senior Dave Edsall, who uses the points program. "If I decide to go to the dining halls, I can, but I can also go anywhere else I want."
The 160 meal plan is probably the most successful new meal plan, including 160 meals and $500 per semester in Dining Dollars, redeemable at Brown and Brew, the Campus Center, and any of the four MOPS merchants.
"Those students are able to go more where they want to. They can pick and choose a little more freely where they want to go to use their meals," said Lee, who added that the 160 plan has received more positive feedback than any other meal plan.
Dining Services has roughly the traffic it expected from the new meal plan - Carmichael serves about the same number of students as it did last year, even though it has spent a lot of time and effort improving their menu and variety. Dewick, as always, is popular, and the number of students patronizing Hodgdon has also increased dramatically.
