The University is considering an additional convenience store, which would be located in the Village, and adding hot food options to Einstein Bros. Bagels, Student Union President Daniel Acheampong '11 announced in his State of the Union address Nov. 18. Acheampong additionally announced that beginning in fall 2011, the University will only offer cage-free eggs. In a phone interview with the Justice, Acheampong said that although there is a strong chance of implementing these proposals, nothing has been finalized.

"These are very, very strong proposals, and the administration has taken a very serious tone to make it happen, so I'll say .. the likelihood is very strong," he said. While he said he hoped that the second convenience store would be up and running by spring 2011, he emphasized that nothing had been officially confirmed by the administration.

"Everything is not finalized because there are some logistical things being discussed, but it is a very strong proposal," Acheampong explained.

Acheampong said that the Student Union would not be funding the changes and that "it is up to the administration to decide where the funding is coming from."

When asked about the timeline for the discussion and implementation of changes pertaining to Dining Services, Acheampong said that these changes had been under discussion for quite some time because they are fundamental issues for students. Acheampong noted, however, that no changes would affect the cost of student meal plans.

"Dining has always been an important issue for students, so the discussion has been going on for a while," he said, explaining that the Union issued a survey last year about student concerns and that Dining Services surfaced as the top issue.

Acheampong said that this issue was extremely important to former Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy and that Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Collins has also been involved in the discussion. Neither Collins nor Director of Dining Services Aaron Bennos could be reached for comment by press time.

Acheampong also announced in his address that, beginning next fall, the University will only offer cage-free eggs, or eggs from hens raised in more humane conditions than battery-caged eggs, in campus dining facilities.

In October, the Real Food Coalition circulated a petition requesting that Dining Services implement this policy, and the Student Union issued a survey soliciting students' opinions on the matter.

Seth Grande '12, one of the coordinators of the campaign to solely use cage-free eggs, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that members of the administration made the decision "a few weeks ago."

Grande also wrote that the change would cause meal plans to increase by $7.50 per semester, however, he said he does not think the changes would affect the prices of meal plans.

He explained that this price increase is "consistent with the cost increases at other schools who have implemented the switch [to cage-free eggs]."

"During the campaign we did our best to make clear that the switch would entail a price increase between $5-10.We are working to put out an official announcement about the change right now with Dining Services and the Administration, and we are working to make sure that this switch is made with as much transparency as possible," Grande wrote.

Grande said that student feedback had been very positive.

"Students don't like that their money is being used to purchase food that is produced so cruelly, and when we decided to do something to change some of those practices, it really resonated," he wrote.