By The Editorial Board
Eating in college is hard. Good food isn’t cheap to buy, and it isn’t quick to cook. If there are two things that most college students don’t have much of, it’s time and money.
Now, how do we fix the issue of college students being broke, hungry and busy? The answer is actually pretty simple. In fact, Baylor has already tried to help solve this problem in the form of its student discount program, “Go Gold.” As great as that is, if you’re anything like us, you probably weren’t aware “Go Gold” exists in the way that it does. Even if you did know, you probably have no clue which restaurants give Baylor students discounts.
There are over 40 restaurants (like Torchy’s and Vitek’s) that offer Baylor students some sort of discount through “Go Gold.” That sounds great, but each and every one of those discount offers is useless if it goes unused, especially if it’s unused because of a lack of awareness.
It really wouldn’t take much effort to create more awareness for “Go Gold.” Small actions such as the occasional Instagram post or reminders around campus can go a long way. It’s odd that the details about a program that is designed to help students is tucked away in a deep, dark corner of Baylor’s website.
To put it in the simplest of terms, doing a better job promoting these discounts feels like a win for everyone involved. It helps uphold Baylor’s image of being an institution that cares for its students, it helps students save money and it theoretically helps the businesses involved make money. Even if you’ve decided that you don’t want to help out college students, advertising these discounts just makes business sense. In a town where Baylor and the people associated with it are a massive part of the economy, it makes perfect sense to cater to that part of your clientele. Chances are, the extra business you would get from students would offset the cost of giving us 10% off our purchase or a free drink with our meal.
This goes for businesses who aren’t a part of “Go Gold” as well. Consider offering and advertising a student discount. College students are loyal customers; give them a reason to walk through your doors, and I promise your business will reach new heights. There are over 20,000 potential customers who are waiting to be your patrons. Give them the chance to do so through a student discount; you won’t regret it.
