Recent H&D decisions are eroding trust between students and administration

By Orion Pope     9/2/25 7:53pm

What you read below was intended to be presented at the Housing and Dining Town Hall on September 1, 2 to 4 p.m. Instead of presenting this, students patiently waited in the heavy downpour, expecting their voices to be heard, but a formal cancellation of the Town Hall was not issued until about half an hour afterward via Instagram. 

Good afternoon. My name is Orion Pope and I am an undergraduate student at Martel College. I thank you for the opportunity to stand before everyone, and I am more than happy to meet afterward to address comments. Before I voice my opinion regarding the meal plan, I would like to remind the audience, and its council, of the Missions and Values of this institution.

Responsibility, for our mistakes and success alike. 

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Integrity, in every decision we make for the rest of our lives.

Community, taking steps to exclude nobody in the process of change.

And excellence, said beautifully by Rice University, that “we are never satisfied with a good result because we can always find ways to do even better.”

Putting this into action, I strongly believe this meal plan has failed in every ideal we stand on. To start, this very town hall was addressed via Instagram – not email or primary means of communications – just one day before the event, on a federal holiday, no less.

Transparency has been a huge issue, not only from H&D, but from the Rice administration as well. The meal plan itself has had little input from the students, who are most affected by the price changes, and was proposed via Instagram during the summer and later via email.

When a petition with over 1,000 signatures was put forth, nothing was said. When I put forth my argument via email to administration, no genuine rebuttal was given. When the Office of Student Success Initiatives rejected a student with full aid that was off-campus, no valid reason was given. Yes, you heard that right. A student with full aid, clearly demonstrated need, was rejected any meal swipes from the SSI program, meant to help with already limited swipes. If somebody with full tuition paid does not count as demonstrated need, then I beg our administration to explain its definition.

Day by day, the administration, whose job it is to provide clear communication about new rules, has failed terribly and needs to accept responsibility. In just the past week, I have heard stories of student IDs being taken temporarily “for security purposes” as they attempted to swipe into the serveries, a clear breach of student autonomy. In doing so, we have fostered a divisive environment that likens our wonderful staff to that of a sort of “cafeteria security guards.” 

Your hasty decisions do not only impact you, but are also degrading the ironclad trust between administration and the student body that we pride ourselves on. From students and staff alike, I think it’s time we put Rice’s principles into action and accept that change needs to happen, where every student’s voice will be heard, and we, the student body, will not stay silent until change is carried out.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest opinion that has been submitted by a member of the Rice community. The views expressed in this opinion are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the Thresher or its editorial board. All guest opinions are fact-checked to the best of our ability and edited for clarity and conciseness by Thresher editors. 

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