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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GUSA Launches Discount Cards, First New Affordability Initiative

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSOCIATION

A new initiative by the Georgetown University Student Association is set to provide 1,500 discount cards for neighborhood shops and restaurants, primarily to low-income students, marking the current administration’s first program to make daily student life more affordable.

Students with the wallet-sized GU$Avings cards can receive discounts and promotions at up to 21 local clothing stores, restaurants and entertainment options in the Georgetown neighborhood, including Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers and Booeymonger delicatessen.

GUSA provided cards to the Georgetown Scholarship Program and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access on Wednesday. All members of the Georgetown Scholarship Program and all students eligible for Pell Grants are entitled to a card, according to GUSA Press Secretary Aaron Bennett (COL ’19). About 600 cards are set to be distributed to other students through academic departments or at GUSA events.

The program is the first effort by GUSA President Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and GUSA Vice President Jessica Andino (COL ’18) to make Georgetown life more affordable for students, a signature issue in their election campaign last February. Mack and Andino called affordability “the most pressing issue affecting Georgetown students” in a pre-election op-ed in The Hoya.

“It’s important that GUSA is alleviating costs in as many ways as possible,” Mack said. “I’m really excited to see how Georgetown students use [the cards] and what different experiences they have, so that this can become a sustainable addition that GUSA takes on every year.”

However, GSP Program Director Missy Foy and GSP Student Board President Emily Kaye (COL ’18) questioned the value of the program in an email to The Hoya, saying the discounts offered by local businesses on the card are meager and largely apply to nonessential luxuries.

“While we’re appreciative of any discount offered to students (and certainly students for whom finances are a significant stress should be front of line), our candid reaction is that local companies could and should do more,” Foy wrote. “We also hope in the future that this discount code might be a help towards essentials like books, food or bedding instead of tanning services and gel manicures.”

Foy also noted that many of the discounts listed on the card were no more than what students could already get with a student ID. For example, some of the cards list a 15 percent J. Crew discount, which is in fact a general student discount available to college students at all J. Crew stores.

“15% off at Ralph Lauren or Vineyard Vines or Brooks Brothers doesn’t represent a major commitment to low-income college students,” Foy wrote.

Mack responded that GUSA explored the possibility of discounts on books at the university bookstore, but was constrained by the university’s contract with Barnes & Noble. Mack also said the student discounts at J. Crew and other stores were included for informational purposes.

Student Government Perks, an internet-based service that compiles discounts, produced the cards for a fee of about $2,000, which was paid for with funding from the Division of Student Affairs, GUSA and the Office of Advancement.

According to GUSA Deputy Chief of Staff Javier Melendez (COL ’19), who worked on the discount cards program, the cards target the costs that students face off campus — a concern in the Georgetown neighborhood, where food, groceries and entertainment are notably expensive. These everyday expenses can cause financial strain from lower-income and middle-income students alike, Melendez said.

“It takes a very high family income in order to have enough financial means to casually go through a Georgetown experience without it being a financial burden on the family,” Melendez said.

Mack first heard about the discount cards from the student body presidents of Catholic University and the University of Missouri–Kansas City, who’d seen success with discount card programs at their own schools. They met at a June conference hosted by the National Campus Leadership Council, a national organization of student body leaders.

“When Georgetown interacts with more student governments, more ideas come to fruition,” Melendez said. “This shows that there are small steps we can take to make student life more affordable.”

This article has been updated.

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  • A

    Alt Right HoyaSep 5, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    Well, it’s official . . . Mack and Andino are fakes. Discount cards for Vineyard Vines and J. Crew. What’s next, Canada Goose and Versace? Hell, they already got Ralph Loren.

    Then is the problem with GUSA and all identity politics at Georgetown. And America in general. Mack and Andino are rich and privileged Black and Brown and have no problem uniting with White people so long as it benefits them and their friends.

    The real issue is class.

    Black and Brown and White lower class members should support each other. But it is in the interest of people like Mack and Andino to divide us based on race. There are SO MANY THINGS they could have done to unite the campus after last year. But they chose to secure discounts for rich people, regardless of race

    Shame on them. GUSA is disgusting. Literally, I want to vomit. And God bless Missy Foy and Emily Kaye. As far as I am concerned Mack and Andino have just lost legitimacy in everyone’s eyes.. Time to start over again next semester. Hell, a freaking Chicken Madness could have done better than those two.

    Reply
    • J

      Jack the BullfrogSep 7, 2017 at 6:57 am

      You’re intentionally provocative, and you do not deserve a reply, but there is one substantive issue:
      “Mack and Andino are rich and privileged Black and Brown” *people*. They are people. Not to be defined by the color of their skin. Your racism rears its ugly head.

      Reply
  • H

    Hoya '17Sep 1, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    Shame on GU criticizing this positive effort, especially if it turns out to be little more than a turf war. I was surprised to see it, because I know GSP has the best intentions at heart. This is the first time GUSA has taken a meaningful step towards addressing an appalling division in the student body produced by differences in income levels in years. If it was so easy, GSP, why haven’t you achieved this before in a better form for all students? And why not advocate cheaper bookstore prices for all? Why discourage student leaders in a position normally dominated by rich Yahoos from taking a meaningful step?

    The attempt at categorization of “essential” services somewhat pedantic. Are poor students not deserving of services other students use on a regular basis? If these discounts mean they can afford a manicure, get that damn manicure. Georgetown’s failure to understand student culture apparently continues to blind them to why the school alienates its less fortunate pupils. By and large there’s money for textbooks offered through various services (including GSP; yes, there are painful exceptions). It’s the other, social expenses that keep people on the outside looking in.

    For the record, information on discounts is incredibly important, even if they are generally available. Students are probably 90% unaware of what their ID gets them. That GSP would malign this is a true shame — they know how hard it is to get this information out there, and this is an effective mechanism.

    I hope GUSA doesn’t let inappropriate criticism, and I’m sure, the unfair communications the university may forward to GSP recipients in particular, to dissuade them. Improve this program gradually and over time. Fight for better discounts once your leverage with the community improves. Cooperate with GU if they are willing to help, go forward alone if not. They’ll appropriate when it gets big enough.

    Reply
  • F

    Frustrated JuniorSep 1, 2017 at 11:16 am

    It is disappointing to see Emily Kaye using GSP to politicize this program. Has she supported a program coming out of this administration yet?

    Kaye presents the premise that GUSA projects should only support “essential” services. Supporting these services is not the responsibility of GUSA. It is the responsibility of Georgetown itself, specifically GSP. GSP exists to provide books to those who do not have them.

    GUSA can address general issues. We live in a hub of America, but many of us don’t have the money to interact with it. Even if we can afford bedding, we can’t afford Bojangles. We miss out on many social and cultural opportunities because no GSP covers our incidental expenses. People who didn’t qualify for GSP but don’t have disposable income deserve opportunities too.

    Reply