First-year students will be allowed to choose any meal plan after their first semester with the implementation of new meal plan options being offered in fall 2010.

At the Student Senate meeting Monday, Student Body President Michael Umhoefer presented the plan to rearrange the current meal plan options to accommodate students’ preferences.

“Meal plan options can be altered each year,” he said. “There was a backlash from not having declining, and senators advocated and pushed hard for declining meal options being open for freshmen.”

Umhoefer said the new plan retains the all Access meal plan, which allows students to eat at the cafeteria at any time with $125 declining money for $1,425 total.

However, the Preferred Plan, which less than 100 students on campus are currently using, will be replaced by Dining Deluxe, which costs $1,450 and provides $325 declining balance. this plan restricts cafeteria use to Monday through Friday, 11 a.m to 7 p.m., includes no Saturday access and is open Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.

There will also be a Declining Balance option of $990, costing $1,375, which will only be offered to freshmen after their first semester.

Sophomore Kayla Stier currently has the all Access plan and said she thinks it’s fair for them to regulate freshmen using the declining plan but doesn’t think the Dining Deluxe plan will appeal to her.

“I’m one of those people who likes to eat breakfast at the caf.,” she said, “so the whole 11 to 7 during the week and no weekends I don’t really like.”

Director of University Centers Charles Farrell said they are constantly reevaluating what the students want from their meal plans, and they want to do their best to provide options students want rather than what’s cheapest. He said they based the new plans on the average student use of the cafeteria and when they use it.

Farrell said he would still prefer students not use the declining plan their first year but listened to the student senators and thinks most students should be more comfortable using declining after their first semester. Sen. Sarah Tweedale said she and a few senators fought for the declining option for freshmen but thinks the final decision is a good compromise.