A resounding cry is coming from almost all the parties hoping to gain vacant Michigan Student Assembly seats in this week's elections: Bring back the real Entrée Plus.
But University financial officials said legal constraints have left its hands tied, and the M-Card, which has permanently replaced Entrée Plus, is here to stay.
"Students wanted to use their Entrée Plus off campus, but in looking at how we could expand the Entrée Plus system we realized we were violating some state laws," said Bob Russell, the assistant director of financial operations.
Russell said that when Entrée Plus was accepted by non-University merchants such as Wendy's and the Michigan Union Bookstore, the University and area merchants needed a "financial institution to legally settle with the third-party merchants."
Enter First of America bank, which presented the highest bid of area banks - and just like that, the University had the M-Card and Entrée Plus was confined to dorm snack bars and other University facilities.
But Russell said the system is not set in stone.
"We have worked closely with MSA and regular students in the past and will continue to do so," Russell said. "We are open to any change that's legal."
And candidates from the eight parties are ready to fight for some changes.
"I think the M-Card has been a monopoly for First of America bank," said Victors' Party spokesperson Nick Kirk. "The Entrée Plus system is better for students - older students found Entrée Plus more convenient and with our busy schedules, convenience is key."
LSA Rep. and Michigan Party candidate Mike Nagrant said establishing ATMs on University property would make life easier for students.
"Putting ATMs machines in some of the bigger dorms and maybe in Angell Hall would be convenient for students," Nagrant said. "We generate so much revenue for the bank - this would be a way for them to give a little back."
United People's Coalition Party Chair Kenneth Jones said the M-Card was restrictive to many students on financial aid because it requires cash up front.
"The card should not be so much money straight out of students' pockets, but more like Entrée Plus where you fill out a form and have more time to pay it off," Jones said. "I think Entrée Plus works wonderfully and I know without it, me and some of my friends would be in trouble most days."
Students' Party candidate Nicole Belles said the M-Card's problem is that it does not supply concrete proof of transactions on the card's cash chip.
"There's no paper trail to go back and find out where an error occurred if something goes wrong - there's no record of the money on the chip," Belles said. "But I personally do not have an M-Card - I have my old ID card and it's fine, but I miss being able to use Entrée Plus in the Union."
But other parties called for the elimination of the M-Card completely.
"An ID card is an ID card and a debit card is a debit card - the University should have no role in telling students which bank to use," said Liberty Party Chair Martin Howrylak. "The best thing to do would be to get the University out of there completely and let the banks market debit cards to students if that's what they want to do."
Slumber Party member Ted Chen said his party would work to make the M-Card optional for all students.
"We think the M-Card is a lot of bull," Chen said. "A lot of people don't use the added features - the change from Entrée Plus was expensive and unnecessary."
Not all of the parties were so quick to condemn the M-Card in favor of the old system.
Nihilist Party Chair Andrew Serowik said that while the idea behind the M-Card was a good one, the program needed to be expanded to more banks and stores outside of campus.
"It would be nice to offer a choice of banks on the M-Card's bank strip - but I'm sure that would be very hard to work out," Serowik said. "The least they could do is make the card more attractive to merchants by lowering fees attached to it - the more universally the card is accepted, the better it will work for students."
Crush the Purple Dinosaur candidate and Engineering Rep. David Burden said that as the M-Card expands, there is no room for Entrée Plus.
"If they are going to have the M-Card, they should phase out Entrée Plus because it's too confusing," Burden said. "You have your M-Card and Entrée Plus and your library card and you can't use any of them in the same places - it's really annoying."