Stanford Student's Essay Ignites Debate on Campus Dining Costs and Religious Exemptions

An opinion essay by a Stanford University undergraduate has ignited a sharp debate over campus dining costs, religious exemptions, and where universities should draw the line between accommodation and abuse. The essay alleges that some students falsely claim to followJainismto avoid Stanford’s mandatory and expensive meal plan, a charge that has resonated far beyond the California campus. At the center of the controversy is a simple but uncomfortable question: when college meal plans cost thousands of dollars a year, are students gaming the system, or exposing one that’s already broken? The debate began after an opinion piece by Sebastian Connolly, a Stanford undergraduate, was published inThe New York Times. In the essay, Connolly describes what he calls a culture of “optimization” at Stanford, where students trade advice on how to minimize costs and navigate institutional rules to their advantage. One example stood out. Connolly wrote that he knows students who identify as Jain, not out of religious conviction, but to qualify for dietary exemptions that allow them to opt out of the university’s required meal plan. The claim struck a nerve because of the numbers involved. Stanford’s mandatory meal plan for the 2025–26 academic year costs $7,944, a significant expense even by elite US university standards.