WASHINGTON — Some students are concerned about how Howard University communicates with them amid confusion over the use of “dining dollars” at the campus Starbucks on Georgia Avenue.
The Bison One Card Office emailed students last Wednesday to notify them that they must repay Starbucks purchases made with dining dollars. The office also warned that students who failed to make payments before April 30 would have a hold on their accounts, potentially causing delayed class registrations and graduation clearance.
The payments, according to the university, violate an existing agreement with Starbucks and Sodexo. However, the Office of Auxiliary Enterprises, which manages the Bison One Card, issued a follow-up statement on Friday, saying it would further investigate the situation and begin issuing refunds to impacted students.
“Administration needs better communication and problem-solving skills,” said Aniya Young, a junior psychology major who shared that she was more confused than frustrated at the university and that she wished the administration had approached the situation differently.
“When they became aware of the problem, the first solution should not have been to make students pay more on top of all their other bills to this university.”
Stephanie Williams, a senior psychology major, said that she finds the situation alarming for students.
“As a graduating senior, I think the idea of having a spontaneous financial hold for a service that you thought was provided is really scary. It really inconveniences students,” Williams said. “Given that it’s Howard’s mistake, students shouldn’t be asked to find a solution for it.”
Starbucks declined to comment. The Bison One Card Office wasn’t available for an interview, but stated in its follow-up email to students: “After a thorough review, the university has decided to lift blanket holds and penalties placed on accounts for the use of dining dollars at this location.”
The office also added that it will continue to investigate the issue “to ensure that proper policy is being followed and that the vendors involved maintain the technical fix put in place to keep this from happening again.”
In response to the email sent on April 9, several students began advocating for themselves. One student even posted a draft email on Instagram, encouraging others to contact the Office of Auxiliary Enterprise Bison One Card directly. The post included specific language students could use to express their concerns and request clarification.
Howard students also took to the anonymous social media app Fizz, expressing their grievances about the issue and sparking conversations about setting up protests or petitions.
“Y’all should we make a petition for Starbucks? Mine is only $50, but it feels crazy and lowkey illegal to charge us because someone else messed up,” one student posted on Fizz.
Another wrote, “Guys, can we please do a social media protest in regard to this Starbucks scandal?”
Howard utilizes dining dollars as part of student meal plans to provide convenient and accessible options for student dining. According to the Howard University Sodexo Dining Services website, students can use dining dollars at “on-campus HU dining locations,” such as 1867 Cafe and Bethune Annex Cafe.
Many universities use a similar approach, such as the University of Michigan. Students who don’t want a meal plan but still want to make purchases on campus can use Blue Bucks, a system that lets them add money to their student account.
Alexis Harris, a student at the University of Michigan, said the institution notifies her of each transaction.
“I feel like they’re pretty accessible, and they update pretty consistently,” Harris said. “As soon as I use some of my Blue Bucks, it’s removed from my balance.”
“We also have an app to track ours, too, called GET, which is helpful because we can go on there at any time to see how much we have and our past transactions.”
At the University of Michigan, students can use their school funds at various locations on campus.
“We have a lot of different restaurants, especially in the Union ,” Harris said. “Then we have tech shops with computers, phones, chargers and also like paraphernalia places that will take it.”
Harris added her university’s dining app alerts her if a location doesn’t accept Blue Bucks.
“If we’re trying to use our Blue Bucks and it doesn’t work, they would tell us before we even try, like we don’t accept Blue Bucks here,” she said.
Many Howard students were able to make multiple purchases at Starbucks using their dining dollars without issue and without any alerts that the payment method was not allowed. The lack of warning has left students questioning why clearer guidance wasn’t provided sooner.
Sophomore acting major Kasyiah Dunham said the incident highlighted the need for clear guidelines on where dining dollars can be used.
“I believe they should send an email or document listing everything that can and cannot be used,” Dunham said. “And also make this communication more direct to other establishments like Starbucks, because they themselves weren’t aware of this rule.”
While the Office of Auxiliary Enterprises provides a list of approved on-campus dining locations, students were still able to use dining dollars at Starbucks. The university’s follow‑up and refund plan may resolve immediate concerns, but the incident revealed gaps in communication about dining dollar policies — to both students and vendors.
Brianna Bryson, Jordan Jarrett and Hailey McMannen are reporters for HUNewsService.com.
