Returning students are aware and new Dawgs will learn: Housing and Food Services has instituted a new dining plan system that will not return unused dining funds.

My first miserable experience with this poor plan came over the summer.

The idea behind this change is that it will save HFS as much as $1 million in refunds, which can then be used to provide the students with more amenities and services. But in reality, it causes more problems than quickly dissolving toilet paper, without saving any real funds.

I stayed in Lander Hall for the summer quarter, where there is a mandatory dining charge of $695. The hours of operation for 1101 were roughly 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Since my 8 a.m. job was in the unfortunate town of Tacoma, my butt had to be out the door before 6:45 a.m.

Thus, breakfast there was out of the question.

Obviously, due to the physics of space and time, lunch was impossible. This left dinner.

Now, every guy knows that summer means one thing when you have a girlfrien your wallet will cry. Out of seven nights of the week, at least three or four were spent taking her out to dinner. Therefore, a dining-plan dinner occurred roughly half of the week.

So the question becomes: How is it possible to spend this much money in two and half months on a meager 4 meals a week?

Luckily, there was one beaming beacon of hope in this rollercoaster of financial despair — 2 Con ("Too Convenient" for the lingo-impaired). This 7-11 knock-off provides chips and drinks, but, more importantly, an outlet for the stagnant funds in the dining account.

When the final week of my residence approached, there was still more than $400 of unused cash in the account. Instead of unwillingly forfeiting nearly half a grand to HFS, I turned to the one thing that could help — the savior that stayed open until 10 p.m.

For the final three days of my Lander experience, I made several runs to 2 Con in a vain attempt to spend the money. Anything that didn't expire before December was fair game.

The thought of donating that much money to HFS was simply unimaginable.

After buying five cases of Orbitz gum, a 36-pack case of Reeses, 12 bags of beef jerky and more plates, plastic utensils and Cheez-Its than I will use in a life-time, the total amount remaining in my dining plan was 49 cents.

This experience shows the gleaming flaw in the non-refund dining plan. Instead of retaining the remaining funds, HFS will simply be awarding the refund to students in the form of a lifetime supply of Airheads and Ding Dongs, instead of a few greenbacks.

Even if the students' parents supply the funds for this account, there is a small fortune to be made by simply buying products on the dining account and re-selling it for a cheaper price for cold, hard cash.

One such brilliant innovator utilized this resource by dropping 20-plus boxes of Trojans on the 2 Con counter.

There could only be three options with a purchase like that: 1) He is the most optimistic guy on earth, 2) He is having one hell of a water balloon fight that I want no part of, or 3) He was selling them to his friends for a cheaper price than they could find at Bartell's.

The other trend that will lose HFS money is that parents and students alike will now opt for a much lower dining plan, knowing that anything unused is lost forever.

No one will put in more money than they have to if they know there is no chance of getting any of it back.

It's human nature.

Although these changes were made with the best intentions, if people feel like they aren't getting a fair deal, they will respond accordingly. The bottom line is that a dining plan without a built-in refund system is a flawed dining plan.

My only word of advice is that you better stock up a couple weeks before the end of the quarter. That way you get there before the angry hordes descend upon the unprepared stores thus ensuring yourself several hundred pieces of your favorite candy and a diabetic coma.

[Reach contributing writer Jeff Dickson at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]