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Thread: Paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use

  1. #1
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use

    HI!

    I am a Junior in college. I go to a school in Alabama, where veganism isn't really practiced... While I am not a vegan, I am a vegetarian. I don't eat meat, animal byproducts, eggs, fish, seafood, etc.... Rarely do I eat dairy because I am lactose intolerant. The school I go to forces us to have a meal plan, and the only way we can get it taken off of our tuition is if we have an official doctors excuse. I wouldn't have a problem with the meal plan, but they don't cater to my diet. I was wondering if any of you knew any medical professionals that could possibly get me some type of documental excuse so I can get this meal plan taken off? otherwise, I'll just be paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use.

    Thanks,
    Justin.

  2. #2
    Cacique's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Have you tried talking to the higher ups? Perhaps if you explain to them that the meal plan doesn't work for you because of personal reasons they might be able to work with you. You could also go with allergies/religion as an excuse.

  3. #3
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Quote Cacique View Post
    Have you tried talking to the higher ups? Perhaps if you explain to them that the meal plan doesn't work for you because of personal reasons they might be able to work with you. You could also go with allergies/religion as an excuse.

    I have tried the allergy excuse. Not so much the religion thing...

    They VP of financial affairs is really surly and and insists that I get some type of doctors excuse. I would go to the hospital, but I dont know what to say when I get there.

  4. #4
    TarekF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    I am sorry about your troubles, I don't have much to offer but ill try.

    Is there a student vegetarian or vegan group on your campus? They may have gone through similar struggles and could even help petition the higher ups. I dunno if you could get a doctor to get an excuse though, i think the best way is to tell them that you are a vegetarian and will not eat it on moral grounds. Maybe you could also look into a vegan group in your city or the state, they may be able to help you too.

    Honestly though, if all else fails using religion as an excuse is a decent idea, if they don't abide i *think* it is discrimination. Personally i think it should be considered discrimination without religion, i think most here would agree, but dont think it is. Is it public or private?

  5. #5
    Cacique's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    It is discrimination if they did not respect his religion. Buddhism is pertty well known for their plant based diet, but there are also Christian denominations that follow a plant based diet, all though I cannot remember the names.

    The only other thing I can think of is perhaps to go to a website where you could ask for legal advice. I can't see how a meal plan has to be a mandatory thing, it makes absolutely no sense. They could simply be trying to trick all the students into getting it thinking they won't check the law or something. I went to a for profit college that was somewhat like this, but I don't remember the meal plan being mandatory.

    If all of these fails, I would definitely take it to some site like Change.org or Care2.com and start up some petitions to get that changed, it's obviously not fair to be obligated to buy something you will never use just to attend a school. They're selling education, not nutrition. Bad nutrition...and they shouldn't SELL education!

    Also, if you did want to try to find a doctor's note, do you have a general doctor that you see regularly for things? Or a family doctor? I can't see why yours or a friendly doctor would decline giving you the paper, it means nothing to them and I'm sure they would consider the meal plan ridiculous too. You could tell them that you're allergic to dairy and eggs, a lot of vegans get sick when they eat meat so maybe that could be added in there. Or just have the doctor say that you have to be on a specific diet so the meal plan won't work.

    I wish you lots of luck, I really want you to not have to buy that crap.

  6. #6
    TarekF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    7th Day Adventists are the christian denomination (maybe theres another too), in fact there are people of every faith who integrate veganism into that faith, and it could be a dietary restriction for any religion really as long as its founded within the religion.

  7. #7
    Cacique's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Thanks, TarekF. The 7th Day Adventists were the ones that I was thinking about, not sure about any others that are.

    I wonder what would happen, though, if Justinotherguy08 flat out refused to buy the meal plan. And if he was not allowed to study there, took some sort of legal action. I wonder who would win.

  8. #8
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Quote Justinotherguy08 View Post
    The school I go to forces us to have a meal plan, and the only way we can get it taken off of our tuition is if we have an official doctors excuse.
    Quote Cacique View Post
    It is discrimination if they did not respect his religion. Buddhism is pretty well known for their plant based diet, but there are also Christian denominations that follow a plant based diet, all though I cannot remember the names.
    Two of the world's largest religions, Buddhism and Hinduism are together representing hundreds of millions of people who don't eat meat. An institution which doesn't only not cater for minorities, but which forces them to pay for services they don't get could be good stuff for both lawyers and media.

    One shouldn't be forced to lie about one's personal health in order to avoid discrimination. If I were in your shoes, Justin, I'd send them an email and with two questions. I'll ask them what they do to make sure that ethnical, religious or other minorities aren't discriminated against in terms of diet. I'll also mentioned PCRM and in particular Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and stress that they are the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. By sending them the quote from the link I just gave you, you make it clear that both from a health perspective and in terms of how they deal with minorities, both you and your schools has a situation which needs to be resolved. And the solution is simple: they either need to deal with the 'cater for minorities' situation, or at least not take payment for a diet they don't offer.

    And you while don't really need a doctor's documental excuse, based on your personal health, a reference to the statement from Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics already represent valid reason to avoid meat.

    You could ask something along the lines of "Is it really ethically defensible to only offer a diet which is according to well respected experts is seems to be associated with a increased risk of death from heart disease, higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, higher blood pressure, higher rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, higher body mass index and higher overall cancer rates - and at the same time require that students who for religious, ethical, health based or other reasons prefer another diet have to pay both for the food they eat and the food they don't eat?". If you write this to them with your own words, they both may respond with something you can quote later and it probably will make them think twice before they come up with a reply.

    You are in US, so you could also mention something about the Statue of Liberty and freedom to think and eat what you want, and about not wanting to lie about your health etc, but don't take it too far, otherwise you'll only provoke them. You may actually do that even if you just mention the health problems associated with meat consumption, so maybe you should start by finding a polite way to say that there are conflicting views about use of meat and animal products, and wonder what their policy are to ensure that people who for some reason belong to a 'dietary minority' aren't discriminated against. You could possible mention that there are more vegetarians in the world than Americans, just to not make yourself so minority-ish that they are tempted to just ignore you.

    Good luck - and if you for some reason don't succeed, let us know. We can always write something about your particular school here - if they force people to both pay for their own diet and a school diet they don't eat, and e.g. mention that this is discrimination against the poor. But it's probably not a good idea mention that there are people out there willing to give them negative press until you possibly need it.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  9. #9
    Bad Buddhist Clueless Git's Avatar
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    Default Re: Paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use

    Hi Justin,

    You could try emailing a few from the list on Vegetarian Doctors to see if one of them will give you an official Doctor's letter.

    Religion wise; There are more meat eating 'buddhists' out there than you can shake a stick at nowadays (I got threatened with banishment from a buddhist forum for linking meat eating with a lack of compassion for other sentient beings) and claiming Hindhuism is not convincing unless you are clearly Indian.

    Jainism and Hare Krishna are probably your best options if you wish to <ahem> 'convert'. Both stress the importance of a vegetarian diet to their practictioners far more than any other religions do.

    Best of British luck to you!
    All done in the best possible taste ...

  10. #10
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use

    claiming Hinduism is not convincing unless you are clearly Indian
    I don't think that, in this context, it matters if there are many Buddhists who eat meat or that one needs to 'claim' Hinduism - I just suggest that the school should have a policy which doesn't discriminate against certain ethnical/religious groups or poor people. Such an argument will probably be a lot easier for them to understand than if one tries to dive into a discussions about eating meat or not.

    One can search for local, registered US dietitians eg here, and maybe it's an even better idea to contact PCRM or eatright.com and see if they already have some documents covering similar cases. PCRM has a campaign searching to ban all milk from school lunches, so maybe they have been looking at issues where people are expected to pay for products they don't get at schools as well. At any rate, I think Justin has a strong case.
    Last edited by Korn; Aug 26th, 2012 at 05:07 PM. Reason: Removing some non-sense. :-)
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  11. #11
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Quote TarekF View Post
    I am sorry about your troubles, I don't have much to offer but ill try.

    Is there a student vegetarian or vegan group on your campus? They may have gone through similar struggles and could even help petition the higher ups. I dunno if you could get a doctor to get an excuse though, i think the best way is to tell them that you are a vegetarian and will not eat it on moral grounds. Maybe you could also look into a vegan group in your city or the state, they may be able to help you too.

    Honestly though, if all else fails using religion as an excuse is a decent idea, if they don't abide i *think* it is discrimination. Personally i think it should be considered discrimination without religion, i think most here would agree, but dont think it is. Is it public or private?

    Hi TarekF,


    No there is not a student vegetarian group here.... In fact, me being a vegetarian is a minority here. They frown upon it and are often skepitcal...I go to school in a small town in Alabama, not sure if I can find a vegetarian/vegan group here. I will do my best to look into it.

    Thanks !

  12. #12
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Quote Cacique View Post
    It is discrimination if they did not respect his religion. Buddhism is pertty well known for their plant based diet, but there are also Christian denominations that follow a plant based diet, all though I cannot remember the names.

    The only other thing I can think of is perhaps to go to a website where you could ask for legal advice. I can't see how a meal plan has to be a mandatory thing, it makes absolutely no sense. They could simply be trying to trick all the students into getting it thinking they won't check the law or something. I went to a for profit college that was somewhat like this, but I don't remember the meal plan being mandatory.

    If all of these fails, I would definitely take it to some site like Change.org or Care2.com and start up some petitions to get that changed, it's obviously not fair to be obligated to buy something you will never use just to attend a school. They're selling education, not nutrition. Bad nutrition...and they shouldn't SELL education!

    Also, if you did want to try to find a doctor's note, do you have a general doctor that you see regularly for things? Or a family doctor? I can't see why yours or a friendly doctor would decline giving you the paper, it means nothing to them and I'm sure they would consider the meal plan ridiculous too. You could tell them that you're allergic to dairy and eggs, a lot of vegans get sick when they eat meat so maybe that could be added in there. Or just have the doctor say that you have to be on a specific diet so the meal plan won't work.

    I wish you lots of luck, I really want you to not have to buy that crap.

    Hi Cacique

    Yes, I do feel it is unfair and discriminatory... I havent went to the hospital yet, because I wanna make sure I know exactly what to say. My mom doesn't have insurance so we don't have a family doctor that can help me.

  13. #13
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Re: Vegetarian seeks advice

    Quote Korn View Post
    Two of the world's largest religions, Buddhism and Hinduism are together representing hundreds of millions of people who don't eat meat. An institution which doesn't only not cater for minorities, but which forces them to pay for services they don't get could be good stuff for both lawyers and media.

    One shouldn't be forced to lie about one's personal health in order to avoid discrimination. If I were in your shoes, Justin, I'd send them an email and with two questions. I'll ask them what they do to make sure that ethnical, religious or other minorities aren't discriminated against in terms of diet. I'll also mentioned PCRM and in particular Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and stress that they are the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. By sending them the quote from the link I just gave you, you make it clear that both from a health perspective and in terms of how they deal with minorities, both you and your schools has a situation which needs to be resolved. And the solution is simple: they either need to deal with the 'cater for minorities' situation, or at least not take payment for a diet they don't offer.

    And you while don't really need a doctor's documental excuse, based on your personal health, a reference to the statement from Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics already represent valid reason to avoid meat.

    You could ask something along the lines of "Is it really ethically defensible to only offer a diet which is according to well respected experts is seems to be associated with a increased risk of death from heart disease, higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, higher blood pressure, higher rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, higher body mass index and higher overall cancer rates - and at the same time require that students who for religious, ethical, health based or other reasons prefer another diet have to pay both for the food they eat and the food they don't eat?". If you write this to them with your own words, they both may respond with something you can quote later and it probably will make them think twice before they come up with a reply.

    You are in US, so you could also mention something about the Statue of Liberty and freedom to think and eat what you want, and about not wanting to lie about your health etc, but don't take it too far, otherwise you'll only provoke them. You may actually do that even if you just mention the health problems associated with meat consumption, so maybe you should start by finding a polite way to say that there are conflicting views about use of meat and animal products, and wonder what their policy are to ensure that people who for some reason belong to a 'dietary minority' aren't discriminated against. You could possible mention that there are more vegetarians in the world than Americans, just to not make yourself so minority-ish that they are tempted to just ignore you.

    Good luck - and if you for some reason don't succeed, let us know. We can always write something about your particular school here - if they force people to both pay for their own diet and a school diet they don't eat, and e.g. mention that this is discrimination against the poor. But it's probably not a good idea mention that there are people out there willing to give them negative press until you possibly need it.
    Hi Korn!

    I would love to write a letter to them, but they seem to work better face to face. I could definitely write a letter and send it to them just to cover my track. Thanks for everything you wrote, it will definitely help me in writing a letter. I agree, a student shouldn't have to lie about their health or religion just to have a meal plan taken off. Meal plans shouldnt be mandatory, especially when there are students who can barely afford the tuition. I think its unlawful, unjust, and down right WRONG! I will definitely keep you guys updated on what they say. I have not stepped foot in the caf since I've been here. I have absolutely NO intentions on ever stepping in there again.

    Thanks.

  14. #14
    Justinotherguy08
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    Default Re: Paying for a meal plan in my tuition that I don't use

    Quote Cupid Stunt View Post
    Hi Justin,

    You could try emailing a few from the list on Vegetarian Doctors to see if one of them will give you an official Doctor's letter.

    Religion wise; There are more meat eating 'buddhists' out there than you can shake a stick at nowadays (I got threatened with banishment from a buddhist forum for linking meat eating with a lack of compassion for other sentient beings) and claiming Hindhuism is not convincing unless you are clearly Indian.

    Jainism and Hare Krishna are probably your best options if you wish to <ahem> 'convert'. Both stress the importance of a vegetarian diet to their practictioners far more than any other religions do.

    Best of British luck to you!
    Thanks for the link. I will definitely be getting in touch with some of the doctors and letting them know my situation and seeing if there's anything think can do to help!

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