SGA joins Student Savers Club

University students can now receive discounts at more than 70 local and national businesses as part of a collaborative program sponsored by the student governments of five Houston-area colleges.

The Student Savers Program, spearheaded by Sean Kriger, a student from the University of St. Thomas, allows students from member institutions to receive discounts on everything from cell phones to apartments.

The program includes offers from AT&T, Mission Burrito, Chick-fil-A, Joe’s Crab Shack, Sterling McCall Auto Group and Texas Lifestyle Apartments, with additional discounts being added on a weekly basis.

Student Government Association began coordinating with student leaders from the University of St. Thomas, University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown and Texas Southern University in May to collaborate and expand the previously existing discount programs at each institution.

Junior Vincent Meyers, SGA president, said the student governments agreed to work together to identify greater discounts for their academic institutions.

“Each university already had its own discount program to various restaurants and companies around Houston,” Meyers said. “It made sense and was more effective if we pooled our resources.”

Meyers met with Sandy Mooney, vice president for financial operations, and Whit Goodwin, director of Student Life and SGA adviser, last semester in order to obtain approval to bring the initiative to campus. Goodwin commended the alliance and praised Meyers’ efforts to work in partnership with neighboring schools.

“We are distinct in who we are and what we are about as a Christian college, but finding ways to work with other schools for mutual success and progress is a good thing,” Goodwin said. “Vincent Meyers took up that mantle and ran with it.”

The University’s previous discounts included a list of more than 10 companies, which will remain available to students. Some of these businesses have even enhanced the discounts they previously offered under the new program, and Meyers attributed this to the large amount of students who can now participate in the initiative.

An estimated 70,000 students in the Greater Houston area won benefits from the program, according to a press release from the University of St. Thomas.

“Companies are much more generous with their discounts if we say we have 70,000 students rather than, in our case, 2,700,” Meyers said.

SGA printed 2,000 Student Savers cards to distribute to students free of cost.

Students can present the card and a valid University ID at any of the participating businesses to receive the benefits. A full list of contributing businesses is available on the Student Savers Program’s Facebook page.

Freshman Josh Wilson said he plans on using the card as often as possible.

“It helps keep students who don’t have a lot of money from breaking the bank,” he said. “It’s a really cool way for us to save money.”