Students see expanded merch and restaurant discounts
Students shop in the Rice Campus Bookstore. The Student Association recently announced that the bookstore will now feature discounts on merch. Konstantin Savvon / Thresher
The Campus Bookstore will now offer a 30% discount to any one apparel item on the first Friday of every month, a change from the previous 10% discount on a designated “spirit item” introduced last April, according to an Instagram post by the Student Association.
In addition, students will see 10% or 15% discounts for 24 new restaurants and shops around Houston, including Black Walnut Cafe, Bluestone Lane, Island Grill, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Sweet Paris.
The Student Association previously launched the merchandise program in partnership with Housing and Dining due to concerns over students paying the same prices for merchandise as visitors.
SA president Trevor Tobey said the merch discount program piloted last year was not marketed well to students, who were “siloed” into a single merchandise option they may not prefer.
Tobey said that he hopes for a universal student discount on every day of the month, not just the first Friday. However, he said this would be a long term goal because Rice outsources the operations of the campus store with supervision from H&D.
“[Currently] we’re working on possible game day promotions and flash sales and different things like that that would make [merchandise] even more affordable,” Tobey said.
Suhas Narra, a Will Rice College sophomore, said that the increased discounts don’t incentivize him to get more merchandise from the Bookstore when compared to cheaper options.
“I feel like at some point it comes down to, what is the 30% on?” Narra said. “Because if you’re looking at a standard cotton T-shirt, and they’re selling it retail, 30% really isn’t a lot when you can bootleg something off of Amazon for 20 bucks.”
Tobey said that the SA is also in talks with H&D to introduce cheaper merchandise year-round, including possibilities of a student-designed T-shirt.
“I think that the Lululemon Rice items in the campus store are great, but sometimes people want a $10, $15 T-shirt,” Tobey said. “There should be things in there that students can really enjoy and like and feel they can support their college through.”
The discounts are a part of an effort from the SA to increase affordability and accessibility for students at large, including their initiatives on the meal swipe donation replacement program, $10 printing credit and a 24-hour Fondren Library pilot program, Tobey said.
Emily Huynh, a Wiess College senior, said that the new restaurant discounts increase accessibility for students who are off campus.
“I think especially for people who do dine off campus more frequently, it’s good for them to have more options in terms of discounts and making these options more affordable,” Huynh said. “Also, it’s good for people who aren’t from Houston to be able to try more restaurants out.”
The new restaurant partnerships are a result of the previous S.RES 04 bill passed last fall, which created a task force to increase student discounts around Houston.
The SA will roll out a promotional program in each college to introduce the new student discounts in the spring, Tobey wrote in a message to the Thresher.
Tobey said he’d eventually like to see between 50 and 100 restaurants with student discounts.
“The sky is the limit for student discounts around Houston,” Tobey said. “Everybody wants to partner with us, it’s just a matter of reaching out and making those connections.”
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