In
the not too far future, Sweet Briar College will no longer buy and barter with
common “money”. All means of exchange
will be through an electronic device, called a Sweet Briar Tracker (SBT), no
larger than a cell phone. Meals at Prothro, not dollars, will be used to
purchase good and services. At the beginning of each semester all students will
be given 250 meals, kind of like an allowance. These meals can be used to pay
for books, music lessons, tutoring sessions, or entrance to sporting and
theatrical events. At the top of the
device is a place to wirelessly connect two SBTs to give and receive payment.
Each student is given an SBT at orientation her first year and it is hers until
she graduates. The SBT has a simple design. At the top of the green device is
the pink wireless connecter. This just needs to be directly pointed at another
device and the “connect” button to be pushed to exchange.
While
students are given 250 full meals, the meals may be broken up into smaller
increments to pay for lesser-valued items. Each “meal” contains a drink, side
item, entrée, and dessert. The items start with a drink as the lowest value and
continue up in value respectively to the meal being the highest denomination.
Desserts are more highly valued than snacks because of their appeal. An ice
cream cone is more desirable than an apple. While it may not be the healthiest
option, students are more likely to want the dessert foods than a side. Three
drinks are equivalent to a snack. Two snacks equal a dessert, and two desserts
are a meal. A drink may be used to pay for a pack of
pencils at the bookstore, while two desserts would be payment for a SBC
t-shirt. Depending on the length of time, voice lessons could cost between five
and ten meals. Just like our current money, different combinations of items may
be used. A soccer game ticket may cost a side item plus a drink. Also, just
like money today, all campus jobs will give paychecks in the form of more meals.
Minimum wage will be four meals and a snack per hour.
The SBT can also
be used as a form of credit. Eating is important to health, so if a student
does not have any more meals, or combination of items, left may “borrow” food.
Their meal would be a basic peanut butter, or soy butter for those with peanut
allergies, sandwich and a bottle of water. This credit would be recorded on
their SBT with an interest rate of one meal plus one snack for each week the
credit is left unpaid. The amount is automatically deducted from the balance
when sufficient funds are loaded back onto the device. All accounts are
controlled and monitored by the business office.
If students can
learn to balance their meals, in the same way that one balances a checkbook
today, she will not have to worry about accumulating debt or running out of the
ability to eat. Just a few hours of a
campus job a week would be useful to big spenders to ensure proper eating
habits. The elites would be the merchants who could provide services and goods
to a majority of the population. Tutors would be a part of this elite,
especially the time before exams. Also,
day students that only would eat lunch during the day on campus would have a
surplus in extra meals to use for other goods.
The lowest class would more than likely become
the in-season athletes. Because of intense practice schedules little time is
left over, after classes and studying, to work a campus job. Athletes are also
the ones who need the most nutrition since so much is lost during practice and
games. This will force the athletes to barter for more meals. This may include giving individual sport
lessons or providing others with discount sporting event tickets. All students
will need to become creative with how they spend their meals and how they
acquire more for extra spending “money.”
