Bailey 1

Morgan Bailey
Reflective Letter
English 219
5 March 2019

The three student learning outcomes that this assignment focused on are

organizational design, project planning, and project analysis. I found that MWA 1

prepared me in organizational design the most. I had to plan my writings for both of

these projects and find a way to organize my information most effectively.

I did not feel as though I was able to learn quite as much about the other two

student learning outcomes. I would have like to have been given more resources to

learn how to better implement these into my writing. Additionally, I felt as though I did

not have the time to employ these outcomes to their full potential. My next step in the

process would have been to attempt to go about making the changes I noted in my

proposal. However, with the amount of work from my other classes as well as having a

job, I was unable to find the time to do so.

What I tried to accomplish mainly with this piece was to provide evidence of the

unreasonably high prices found at Mercado and Outtakes stores found on campus. My

main modes of doing this was through pictures and surveys. I decided to photograph the

prices of food items on campus and compare them to those found off of campus. This

gave me an ability to use primary evidence to support my claim. Additionally, I used a

survey to gain insight on the opinions of other students on campus. By surveying a large

number of students, I was able to obtain substantial information about how these

students felt about the prices at these stores.

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Proposal-Decreased Food Prices at

Outtakes and Mercado
Date: 3 March 2019
To: University of New Mexico Food Services
From: Morgan Bailey
Subject: Food prices on campus research and decreasing prices at Outtakes
and Mercado proposal

Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to describe to issues of food items on
campus being unfairly overpriced, to provide the input of several students,
and to describe a plan to combat the high prices. The purpose of my initial
research is to obtain opinions from several students on campus about the
prices in Outtakes and Mercado and compare prices found in these stores
with places off campus. Additionally, I will be in contact with people who
have authority over the pricing at these stores and learn their insight on the
issue. The assertion of this proposal is that if the prices are lowered at these
stores, students will have less financial burden from purchasing at these
stores and will visit them more frequently.

Current Situation- Overpriced Food Items

The current situation at Mercado and the Outtakes locations across campus
are extremely high prices for pre packaged food items. Many items at these
places cost more than twice the amount of the same items found in stores
off of campus. These stores exist for students to have a convenient place to
purchase food and be able to stay on campus. For students without a car,
buying groceries from Mercado and Outtakes may be their only option. It is
unfair for students to only have overpriced options for convenient food.
Students pay a lot of money to attend the university, and many could do
without these inflated prices.
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Figures 1&2: Very unreasonable prices on Oreos and Pringles at Outtakes

Corner Store

As you can see in the photos above, the prices on items that are generally
considered to be inexpensive are extremely high. I personally do not know
anyone who would be willing to pay eight dollars for a package of Oreos,
and it is unfair of the university to expect its students to. These items are
available for significantly lower prices at stores off of campus, however this
is not an option for some students, leaving them forced to pay the high
prices for food.

There seems to be no obvious or logical reasoning behind these prices

besides the university trying to make more money off of students. I have
sent an email to UNM food in attempt to find the one who is in charge of
these prices. However, I did not receive a response. Additionally, I asked a
few employees at these stores if there was a manager I could speak to. I did
not have any luck in this attempt either. I was not able to find any specific
reason for the high prices at these stores, so I was left to hypothesize on my
own.
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Proposed Program- Student Survey and

Decreased Prices
As a student from out of state, living on campus, without a car, I originally
thought that these high prices may only be such a big deal to me. I wanted
to seek information on how other students felt, so I surveyed students who
lived on and off campus and those with and without a car. This survey gave
me a better idea of the entire population of UNM and their thoughts on the
issue. Most students at any university are paying a lot of money to attend
and would greatly benefit from less expensive food options. Access to
affordable food is vital for the success of any student, without it they will be
unable to focus and put hard work into their studies.

Task 1: Research student body’s opinions on the prices at these stores.

Below is the survey that I handed out to students on campus. I began with
students at the residence halls, then I went on to find students who did not
live on campus. I surveyed 100 students in total.

Student Satisfaction Survey - Outtakes/Mercado

Do you live on campus? Yes No

About how often do you purchase items from one of these stores?

never once a month twice a month weekly several times a week

Do you find the prices of items at these stores to be comparable to the prices at stores off campus?

Yes No

Do you find the items sold at Outtakes and Mercado to be overpriced?

Yes No

If you answered yes, how overpriced do you find the items to be?

slightly overpriced very overpriced extremely overpriced

Would you make more frequent purchases if the items at these stores were less expensive?

Yes No

Figure 3: Outtakes/Mercado Student Survey

Task 2: Analysis of Survey Data

The second step of my research was analyzing the results I received from
my survey. The answers to the first question were 50/50 as I asked this to
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keep track of differences between responses from students living on and off
campus. However, the answers were quite similar from both groups.
About 55% of those surveyed said that they made a purchase from one of
these stores once a week or several times a week. Only 4% responded,
“never.” I omitted the data of those who gave this response. Every single
person surveyed said that the prices at these stores are not comparable to
stores off campus and that the items sold at these stores are overpriced. Of
the 96 students whose data I am reporting here, 17 said the items were
slightly overpriced, 52 said very overpriced, and 27 said extremely
overpriced. Finally, all of the students surveyed said that they would make
more frequent purchases if the prices were lower.

These responses prompted me to do more researched. It seemed that it was

a very popular opinion that the items at Outtakes and Mercado stores are
unreasonably high.

Task 3: Reach out to someone in authority

This task proved to be especially difficult. I attempted twice to email those

at UNM food, but I was not given a response of value. After this failed
attempt, I asked employees at Mercado if there was a manager present on
three separate occasions. They told me that there typically was not a
manager present of sufficient rank to answer my questions. My intentions
to speak to someone who may be able to give me insight on why the prices
are so high went unfulfilled.

Task 4: Collect price comparisons to have evidence to support my claims

Below you will see photographs of food items with their prices that I took in
Outtakes and Mercado stores shown next to the same items found at
Walmart. While a small price increase may be expected in exchange for the
convenience of these items, you will see that these price increases are
anything but small.
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Figures 4&5: Price comparison of ramen noodles from an Outtakes stores

and Walmart

As you can see from the first comparison above, the ramen noodles sold on
campus are $0.75 more than the ones at Walmart. While this is a very
small amount of money in the grand scheme of things, this is still a 200%
price increase which is very significant.

Figures 6-9: Price comparisons of food items on campus and at Walmart

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As you can see in the figures above, the price of Oreos at Mercado or an
Outtakes store is $8.39 compared to $2.98 at Walmart. This comparison is
astounding and further emphasizes the inflation of the prices on campus.
The Pringles are a similar case, priced at $3.49 on campus which is more
than double the price found off campus.

Task 5: Decrease prices found at these stores

The final step of is quite straightforward. The very simple solution to this
issue is to lower the prices at these stores. I was unable to find a clear
reason for the high prices, therefore this solution may be more complicated
than I believe it to be. However, implementing lower prices on the items at
the stores would reap many benefits.

Cost and Benefits

Costs

The only true cost of this would be that the university would not make as
much profit off of a single item. They would also have to create new price
labels for each item and change the prices in their computer systems.
However, these costs would all end up being more than paid for by the
benefits of lowering the prices.

Benefits

The main benefit of lowering the prices would be more business from
students. If students are able to find food items on campus for only a
minimally increased compared to what they find off campus, they will be
more likely to make purchases. With reasonable prices to offer, these stores
may find they end up with more profits in the end as a result of the increase
in business from students.
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Qualifications
I am qualified to discuss such things as I am a student who lives on campus
and relies on the food sold here. I do not have access to a car and therefore
am often left to buy food sold in the convenience stores on campus. I have
found that others agree with my thoughts on this and would also like to see
a decrease in prices.

Conclusion- Simple Solution, More Business

In conclusion, decreasing prices is not only fair to students, but will also
help increase business at these convenience stores. College students
already have many expenses to worry about, and food should not have to be
one of them. Every college student deserves to have access to affordable
food on campus, as some of us do not have access to many other options.
Additionally, the university will still make a profit, even with lower priced
food items. With one less high expense to worry about, students will be
more likely to want to stay enrolled in school and stay on campus.