The Student Government Association is working to implement a student savings club package that would provide discounts to students when they show their Cougar Cards at participating businesses.
‘The idea behind the package was to give students at the University of Houston a way to save money on things we purchase every day,’ CLASS Sen. Veronika Evans said. ‘We realize that in student government we are always using our power to decrease the costs of textbooks, tuition and student fees, and that we could also be using our power to create a program that saves students money on a daily basis.’
The SGA is working on a contract with Collegiate Services Inc. and is in the process of submitting to CSI a list of the businesses it thinks students visit most frequently. Once a contract is agreed upon, CSI will then negotiate discounts with these companies on the SGA’s behalf, SGA President Kenneth Fomunung said.
‘The Student Life Committee is currently working on compiling a list of businesses for the program while SLC committee chair and Sen. Veronika Evans and myself are working together with SGA advisor Marcella Leung to work out the details of the contracts to ensure that we are in compliance with all University guidelines relating to such treaties,’ Fomunung said.
The package would benefit any student who could provide their Cougar Card at participating businesses, and it would be up to future SGA administrations to insure the continuation of this program.
Evans said she is planning to write a resolution for the package that the senate will vote on at the Dec. 2 SGA meeting The contract negotiations could take anywhere from two to four weeks, plus another four weeks for CSI to negotiate discounts with businesses.
The SGA said it is hoping to launch the package in February 2010.
If this package is implemented, there will be a corresponding Web site set up allowing students to access a list of participating businesses and the discounts each business offers. The SGA hopes this proposal would build a stronger relationship between it and UH students.
‘I hope that students feel the benefit financially on a weekly basis, as they get 20 percent off their dry cleaning or a dollar beer at a local sports bar,’ Evans said. ‘I hope that they also feel a sense of pride in their Student Government and the University for supporting them not only in their academic career, but also in life. We want to support our students in any way that presents itself, and this is just one more way we are showing we are here for them.’
