As the economy continues to be the main concern for Americans heading into the election, LSU students should ask themselves, “what has my school done to relieve some of my financial burden?” Probably not much, but a free meal would be a good way to start. 

Every student should be guaranteed one free meal per day at any LSU dining hall.  

Students are constantly faced with the burden of finding parking or facing an overpriced ticket given to them by underpaid workers driving run-down Dodge Caravans.  

But let’s give LSU some credit. They have not raised tuition in the past five school years, despite inflation and the increased cost of everyday goods.  

Let’s also not fail to acknowledge that during that same span LSU has had four national championship teams — football, baseball, women’s basketball and women’s gymnastics — that have brought in increased ticket and merchandise sales to the university. Further, the rise in incoming freshmen class sizes over the years allows LSU to collect more tuition fees. 

LSU athletics’ revenue is carried by football and men’s basketball — the only sports operating profitably at astronomical levels. LSU golf’s revenue of 283,508 dollars pales in comparison to the 200 million football generates, which is 50% of the athletic department’s revenue.  

Just as we take care of our athletes, ensuring they get a chance to live out their athletic dreams, we must remember that there are kids on campus stressing about how to cover daily meal costs.  

The dining halls do great work catering to students’ hours and providing a variety of nutritional options. I looked over LSU’s meal plan options, seeing the cheapest was the 12-meal swipe (12 divided by seven made for bad math) per week plan priced at $4,688 per year. 

I never had a meal plan, so Collier Roberts, a finance sophomore, helped me understand how 12 meal swipes work. 

“I ate 2 times a day and had to find another way to eat on Saturdays,” Roberts said.  

I’m 24, so I know that paw points are just another way of saying, “coffee and stress food money.” 

“My paw points went by way quicker than I would’ve liked. I spent [the] majority of them in the first few months,” Roberts said. 

My conclusion after our conversation was the same one I had beforehand; LSU needs to step in. 

I took a visit to the LSU food pantry to see if I could survive a day with what I could grab. You arrive and follow an assembly line covering carbs, snacks, fruit, meat and drinks. Heavy student traffic forces the pantry to cap the amount of time you can take. This means you must make time every day to make a trip and hopefully have enough time between classes to make it back home to put cold items in the refrigerator.  

Arriving at the meat freezer, I opted for a microwavable dinner because I needed to stay on campus. Above my 5-foot 7-inch frame a label marked “take one” was placed. “If I eat this microwaveable chicken salad now, what’s dinner looking like?” I thought.  

I was expected to cook and season (assuming I have some, and, no, loading your food with salt does not count) the rice and beans for dinner and have some sort of protein at my house to complete the trio. All this while allowing time to return to campus, finish my homework in the library and get enough sleep for my 5 a.m. workout.

Could it be done? Yes. Is it convenient? No. Should the university offer us some help? Yes.  

A free meal would ease the stress of spending money on a necessity, allowing students access to a nutritional meal while saving time and money. It could also create a collaboration between the pantry and the dining halls for students, further enhancing their options.  

The arguments of meal prepping are valid, however, not sufficient. Not every student handles the pressures of class, homework, employment, social life and hygiene with the efficiency needed to make, package and wash the dishes needed to repeat the process.

The New York Times released statistics in 2017 showing that 50% of LSU students come from top 20% incomes. Only 6.7% of LSU students are considered poor, ranking LSU 244th among public universities.  

Of course, to feed the school spirited culture and Tuesday night bar runs, LSU needs students unconcerned with financial stability. US News ranks Louisiana 50th in overall state rankings that include opportunity, education, crime, etc.  Nevertheless, Louisiana cracks the top 20 in alcohol consumption.  

The party school title label does not come without benefits. A party school means a kid can come to experience substances like alcohol or marijuana, massive parties and school gatherings, huge lecture halls, tailgates and learn what they are comfortable with.  

Programs are great, but a direct change in the image of a free meal will leave graduates with a memory of their school being interested in improving their day-to-day lives. There’s no need to add another handful of administrators to the payroll.  

Students are here for an education. Institutions should be expected to pave the road along their journey to make it as smooth as possible. However, as unglamorous as it may be to cater to a minority, we must remember that they are studying to escape poverty. Let us allow their college experience to encompass a level of stability. Let us not overlook the potential unleashed when a student is able to overcome food insecurity.  

Mohammad Tantawi is a 24-year-old mass communication senior from Smyrna, TN.