Occupants of Roddey Hall will have stoves and ovens removed from their apartments in fall 2022 and are being assigned roommates despite having paid for private rooms.
The Department of Residence Life informed current Roddey residents of upcoming changes in an email sent on March 2.
The email said that “beginning Fall 2022, Roddey residents will be required to purchase a meal plan each semester” and that “all rooms will be double occupancy.”
A follow–up email sent on March 20 explains the changes.
“We need to make a program change for Roddey residents because the University will discontinue providing stoves and ovens in Roddey apartments due to their age and repair/replacement challenges,” the email said.
The message also said that “because [Residence Life employees] have an obligation to all of our resident students to ensure access to food and nutrition, a mandatory meal plan will be required each semester.”
Some students, such as sophomore Reagan Woodward, found that these adjustments did not fit their financial or dietary needs.
“I got into Roddey freshman year because of my allergies, and just other medical reasons, but that was the main reason,” Woodward said. “I’ve had to prepare my meals every single day — I’ve never had a meal plan. It’s going to be kind of hard, and I don’t want to pay a thousand dollars for a meal plan when I’m not going to use it.”
The new meal plan called Block 75 will be offered exclusively to Roddey residents. It will cost $1,055 and provide 75 meals and $500 in Café Cash per semester. However, pricing may change with the Board of Trustees’ approval.
Under this plan, students would have access to three Eagle Eatery or Markley’s Food Court meals a day for approximately 41 days. A typical semester lasts 75 days.
According to the Winthrop University website, the second most affordable option is the Block 100 meal plan. It provides 100 meals and $600 in Café Cash for $1,647.
Woodward is not the only resident dissatisfied with the added expenses and overall quality of living in Roddey.
Gray Balentine, a senior who has lived in the same private room for the past two years, said that the renewed contract is due on Thursday, March 24, and she has not signed it yet.
“I checked a couple days ago, and I have a roommate for some reason. I’ve emailed them multiple times. I’ve called them multiple times with no contact back,” Balentine said.
Balentine said that when she went to the office in person, she was told they were unsure if they could offer private rooms yet.
“I’m not going to, you know, sign up for a room that I don’t want. It seems kind of odd to me that they would tell us to put in our intent forms when they haven’t finished receiving applications for the school yet. They can’t guarantee me a living situation, but I’ve paid extra to stay in this room by myself,” she said.
As of March 25, Interim Director of Residence Life Howard Seidler has not responded to a request to comment.
