A recent proposal looks to make paying for meals in the Village a little easier.
Cardinal Cash Task Force presented its plan Jan. 28 to expand Cardinal Cash use outside of the university.
CCTF Chairman Kevin Thurman said Randy Howard, vice president of business affairs, was receptive of the plan that would allow students to use their ID cards at more facilities, both on and off campus.
Thurman said several other higher learning institutions in Indiana allow students to use comparative services at off-campus locations, such as Indiana University’s Campus Access and the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis’ program JAGTAG.
Heather Closson, Student Government Association vice president and CCTF member, said expanding the program would be good for everyone involved, especially for students who would be able to use their Cardinal Cash instead of a debit card.
Cody Hicks, general manager of The Locker Room, said he would be in favor of Cardinal Cash use.
“As long as the university could make it work in our computer system without costing the business any money,” Hicks said, “I would be very much in favor of it.”
Closson explained there are two ways the university could implement the system. The first would be to bring in an outside bank or credit card firm to allow transactions between the store and university. The second would be to find a way to do it within the university’s current system.
Martin George, owner of The Cup in the Village, agrees, as long as the university could make the logistics work.
“I know they do it on other campuses so it’s feasible,” George said. “We have had students talk about it, but as far as how much of a boom it would be, you can’t know until it happens.”
Thurman said the plan would extend Cardinal Cash use to several other intra-university programs such as University Theatre, the Post Office, Cardinal Lanes and athletic events.
The task force is looking to update the laundry services of older halls such as Johnson and LaFollette complexes to accept Cardinal Cash in some capacity.
The task service has already been successful in allowing students to use Cardinal Cash at John R. Emens Auditorium in 2010.
Closson said the changes come out of a 2010 student and faculty survey about Cardinal Cash.
Of the more than 1,200 students and faculty surveyed, 73 percent did not currently use Cardinal Cash, but 42.4 percent said they would be more inclined to use it if it were offered at more places, according to the survey.
Thurman said students should remember they have a voice and can make a difference in the way university programs are run and this is a perfect example of that power.
“The real story is that this is a completely student organized proposal,” Thurman said. “It was a student idea that was brought to the university and they listened. This is a real, wonderful example of the chain of communication between university and students.”
