Saint Xavier University has experienced a steady influx of students who commute to campus. With limited space in residence halls, and a pandemic still wreaking havoc across the nation – many have commuting as their only option. Due to the high population of commuter students, it is necessary to upgrade the Cougar Card in regards to dining.
By limiting the Cougar Card’s reach to only on-campus dining, it leaves commuter students at a disadvantage. Having to continuously go between their residence and the campus in order to use their meal card is needlessly tedious. To combat this, the school should widen the reach of the Cougar Card.
With so many restaurants, both fast food and locally owned, surrounding the campus – there are an array of options available to add to the Cougar Card’s reach.
Setting up partnerships with restaurants in the surrounding area will be beneficial to both the campus and the businesses involved. The restaurants will be able to get more business than before as they’ll have access to a larger audience, and the school will also see an increase in revenue from these sales. Since a lot of students rely on the Cougar Card to get their meals, local restaurants are losing out on the potential profit from those transactions.
In order to make it a fair partnership for SXU, these businesses would give a fraction of their money earned from students to the campus. This ensures that both the restaurants and university would see a higher influx of revenue.
SXU Senior Natalie Davidson had this to say on the matter, “I think it would be great if the Cougar Card was extended to local restaurants.”
She continued with, “The students that are not from the surrounding SXU area are missing out on the delicious variety of food that the restaurants on the southside provide the community with. From family-owned pizza places to breakfast spots and everything in between, there are numerous restaurants for SXU to choose to partner with for the Cougar Card.”
Due to the aforementioned pluses of extending the Cougar Card’s reach, SXU would see an increase in their revenue. With this new income, they would be able to enact a new eatery on campus for students. While the campus does have a Starbucks, it is not an ideal spot for all students.
The Starbucks on campus is a cute, quaint location for students to go to to study and get a coffee after class. However, it doesn’t have as many seats available due to Covid-19. Also, the food options and non-coffee beverages are limited. While a lot of college students, myself included, love getting a coffee between classes – it is not for everyone.
Adding a new food joint on campus would give students some variety of where to eat on campus. Good places could include Tea Yard, MOD Pizza, Chick-Fil-A or even a Smoothie King. Adding a business like the ones mentioned would also help separate SXU from other college campuses.
When you think of what companies do the most business with schools – the first that comes to mind is Starbucks. Almost every college campus, and some high schools, feature a Starbucks. Differentiating SXU’s campus eateries from other schools would help to increase the school’s appeal.
As Cougar Cards remain limited to the campus, SXU is losing out on a lot of potential profit. The generated income alone will be a massive plus for the campus and local businesses. This, coupled with the benefits for commuter students, show a lot to be gained by widening the Cougar Card’s reach.
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