The signs have been all over campus: Get 18 percent off when you use ID flex cash instead of meal plan cash. At first glance, this seems to be a good, wholehearted deal being offered by Sodexo. But considered in a different light, is it really more of a gentle scam in disguise?

Take a minute to remember what flex cash really is: One US dollar uploaded to your ID card gives you exactly one flex dollar.  Meal plan cash, on the other hand, is something created by Sodexo to attach to our regular meal plans that has no intrinsic monetary value.  Its value rather depends on what you can actually buy for your allotted amount each quarter.

It is no joke that buying food at meal plan cash prices can result in a hefty tab. A salad at Jazzman’s costs about $6, and a stop at Nagel to pick up a candy bar will set you back a lot more than if you bought the same thing at Walgreens. But since it is not our money per se, just an arbitrary amount we are given each quarter, it tends to slip through the cracks and not register as to how much we are actually being ripped off. But remember, we are buying food on campus, not at an airport where such ripoffs are expected.

Now back to the 18 percent off story. I think it is worth questioning whether the so-called 18 percent discount you get when paying with flex cash is not a discount at all; after all, 18 percent off most of the prices would put them more on par with prices for the same food elsewhere. Maybe the real story is that we are being overcharged by 18 percent every time we use meal plan cash.

What Sodexo might be underhandedly doing is convincing us that they are exercising good citizenship by offering 18 percent off if we give them real greenbacks while failing to mention that when we buy a meal plan that includes $175 of meal plan cash, we are actually only getting something closer to $140 in true value. To me, this seems to be a very convincing way to trick gullible parents into thinking the pricey meal plans are worth it, because at least little Jack or Jill will have $175 whole dollars to spend on food if they go hungry. This coupled with the fact that there is not an option to buy a meal plan that does not include meal plan cash forces everyone in.

There may be a perfectly valid explanation for everything Sodexo is doing with its pricing and policies with flex and meal plan cash. However, there are some questions that need to be answered. Sodexo should disclose why there is an 18 percent difference between what they charge depending on whether flex or meal plan cash is used. They should also provide some explanation as to why their meal plan cash prices are noticeably higher than buying the same product off campus.