<p>I know you say it may be “a lot different”, but if you compare it to UCSB/UCLA’s style of all-you-can-eat, its all relative, and is equivalent to our pay-per-item. You can’t just take food out of UCLA’s dining halls, unless you request a to-go box. You pay a fixed amount, ranging from ~$5-$10 depending on what time of the day it is. If you’re not ridiculously hungry, then you’re probably not going to eat very much, yet you still pay $7. A lot of my friends at other UC/universities that have buffet-style dining halls would rather have it our way, even if it does seem overpriced. </p>
<p>The grass is always greener on the other side, yeah?</p>
<p>If they didn’t charge each student who lived on campus a fixed amount of money, the dining halls wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves & wouldn’t exist.</p>