February 2014 Penn State Beaver Roar
News
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What can your Penn State ID do for you? Local area merchants offer discounts to Penn State students by simply showing their ID cards Stephanie Clark Staff Writer
slc5684@psu.edu
One thing freshman Anthony DeFerrari and sophomore David Brunette have in common is the simple fact that they like to save money. “Students are already under monetary stress. Money is limited because of books,” said Brunette. Saving a dollar or two every chance you get may sound appealing, but finding where students can get a discount is not easy. It’s not uncommon for college students to be able to flash their student IDs and get 10 percent off of a purchase, but DeFerrari said he does not know of anywhere he can get a discount with his Penn State ID. He would take advantage of dicounts if he could, he added. Most students at Penn State Bea-
ver don’t know they are eligible to receive many discounts in the community with their ID card because there is no up-to-date list of places that offer discounts. A list was once provided on Penn State Beaver’s website by Student Affairs, but it is no longer available because of the difficulty in maintaining the information over the years, said Staff Assistant Jill Bender. University Park has a discounts portal found at the Office of Human Resources website, www.ohr.psu. edu/discounts, the portal allows faculty, staff and students to find an extensive list of discounts easily. Those at Commonwealth Campuses such as Beaver are eligible for the discounts, but most discounts on the stite apply to retailers located in the State College area only. Among the discounts listed are
several phone companies offer deep discounts on phone plans – 10 percent for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and 15 percent for T-Mobile – and students at any campus can take advantage of them. Meanwhile, there are restaraunts nearby that offer discounts to students as well. Wendy’s and McDonald’s offer a 10 percent discount to students. Kings and Anthony’s Pizzeria offer a 15 percent discount. Antony’s Pizzeria is located in the Beaver Valley Mall food court, while the others are near the mall. Food is not the only thing students can get a discount on. Michael’s craft store offers a 15 percent discount when students are purchasing materials for a school project. JoAnn Fabrics also offers a student discount of 10 percent to students
who register in store or at their website. Maybe you are searching for a new look? Great Clips offers $2 off to students, and the Beaver County YMCA offers free admission to students Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. Sophomore Jimmy Bing said he knows that he can get a discount at McDonald’s and Great Clips just by showing his student ID and takes advantage of these discounts often. Penn State Beaver Chancellor Gary Keefer said that during a meeting in Harmony Hall last December students expressed interest in more discounts. Keefer worked out a deal with David Sebastian, the owner of The Wooden Indian in Beaver, so students could enjoy this fast, casual restaurant.
In addition, just after the start of the spring semester, the owners of Witch Flavor in downtown Beaver, Lisa Ragazzini and John Biondi, started offering a 15 percent discount when students of Penn State Beaver show their student ID. Witch Flavor serves Penn State Creamery ice cream as well as homemade soup, soft pretzels, milkshakes, root beer floats and cupcakes, Ragazzini said. One place DeFerrari said he would like to see offer discounts to students is the movie theater. There is a Cinemark movie theater right in Monaca. Though this exact location does not offer discounts to students, Cinemark offer a variety of other discounts students may be interested in, such as their popular Tuesday discount days. A complete list of deals can be found on their website.