Ruth Brown

With college students on a tight budget, saving a couple of dollars here and there is something most students would not turn down.

With the help of the Students’ Association, a new student discount club has been started to phase out the coupon books that have been used in the past.

“The main difference between the student discount club and the coupon books we’ve used in the past is that you can use it more than once,” said SA senator Tim Goldammer. “With the coupon books, you had to have the actual piece of paper with you to get the discount.”

With the student discount club, all that is needed is a student ID.

“Most students carry their student ID with them anyway,” said Goldammer. “This way they can get the discount at a business as many times as they want as long as they have their ID with them.”

With more than 25 businesses participating in the student discount club, there is a wide variety of discounts to choose from.

“I think it’s a great idea, but I do wish that there were more businesses involved with it,” said Sheila Widner, a freshman computer science major. “If they keep getting more businesses then it would definitely be more appealing for students.”

The participating businesses include restaurants, bars, stores, gyms, salons and auto shops.

“One of the big differences between the coupon books and the discount club is that businesses do not have to pay to be a part of (the discount club),” said Matt Tollefson, SA president.

“Local businesses used to have to pay to be a part of the coupon books, like advertising,” said Goldammer. “I think there is a greater appeal to businesses since they don’t have to pay a fee to participate.”

Recruiting businesses for the discount club has been a joint effort among the senators of SA.

“The entire Students’ Association has been working to get more businesses to sign up,” said Tollefson. “We are continually working to get more people involved in it.”

The new student discount club offers opportunities for students to save money while they partake in local businesses’ opportunities.

“The best part of the student discount club is just that it is free for students and they can use the discounts more than once,” said Tollefson.