The Hanger | Photo by Jamie Naylor | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University’s (WSU) on-campus dining options are undergoing changes while meal plan prices steadily increase for students and staff.
The Union Market
The Union Market closed during the spring semester of 2021 due to low numbers of students and faculty on campus. It is set to reopen for the Fall semester.
According to Nicholas Paige, Marketing Coordinator for Chartwells at Wright State, the stations in the Market were renamed, updated signs were installed and some minor updates were made.
“All the changes that we are making are mostly cosmetic, such as changing signs and posters and wall vinyl.” Paige wrote.
Some of the changes to the stations include making ‘Create’ into ‘Rowdy Street Subs’ and changing ‘2Mato Pizza’ to ‘Wild Pie.’ ‘Absurd Bird’, a chicken option, was added to the ‘Burger 937’ station. ‘Fresh Fusions’ is now a test kitchen where students will have the opportunity to interact with the chefs and staff.
The Hangar
The Hangar, located in Allyn Hall and one of the only dining options to stay open throughout the academic year 2020, 2021, will also see some updates.
Offerings in the Hangar now include Paper Lantern, Zatar and Bowl Life. Zatar, similar to homestyle, offers a rotating menu, while Paper Lantern and Bowl Life have set menus.
Both the Union Market and the Hangar will be fully operational and open starting the first day of the fall semester, August 23.
The project
In order to keep costs down, Hospitality Services used WSU departments and maintenance to update the two dining halls.
“We are fortunate to have an amazing on-campus printing shop and team. We always look to partner with on-campus services for any updates we make,” Paige wrote.
The Wright State Guardian inquired about the overall specific price of the project, but Paige would not disclose this information.
In addition to updating the physical dining locations, meal plan options decreased. In 2020 there were 10 meal plan options students could choose from. For the incoming class, only six options were offered. Two of these options, Rowdy 100 and the 1500 plan, were not previously offered.
From 2018 to 2020 the prices for meal plans have increased. For the 2018 Cohort, one of the most popular plans, the Raider12 cost $1,666. For 2019, the price rose to $1,765 and for the 2020 and 2021 classes, the price rose to $1,853 according to Hospitality Services data.
However, according to Paige, the value of a single meal swipe has increased from $7.00 to $7.75.
