Likoya McCune
Blue and White Flash / Staff Writer
Students are wondering how super the Supercard really is with recent controversy over the lack of gas vendors accepting the Supercard.
According to Alcinia Pugh, director of Contractual Services at Jackson State University, the campus card program was initially designed to assist students with the purchase of their educational needs such as textbooks and other course materials.
“The card program has grown to surpass that need and now is accepted at more than 170 locations in the city of Jackson. These establishments include pharmacies, dental and eye care, restaurants, car repairs, wireless providers and more,” said Pugh.
Pugh states that it is the business owner’s discretion on what goods can be purchased with the Supercard.
“Several gas station owners opted not to accept the Supercard at their establishments because of the high cost of gasoline and some were not willing to give back to the University. Currently, there are three gas stations that accept the JSU Supercard; Ellis Food and Gas, West Express and Sheriff 66 locations.”
Students are urged to check the vendor list available online at http://supercard.jsums.edu/ to find current vendors.
“I always glance at the JSU application to see that the gas station is still listed on the Supercard approved list,” said senior biology major Erica McIntyre. “I’m glad I could still use my Supercard to purchase gas at the Exxon gas station nearby on Terry Road when they told me no at the Fuel Time gas station on the same street.”
Trerica Roberson, a senior Art major from Louin, Miss. feels that the vendors who do not want to honor the Supercard should be deleted from the program.
“If the Supercard is good enough for chips, drinks and other stuff, why isn’t it good enough for my gas purchases. Why give them any business if they don’t want all of our business?” said Roberson.
Pugh states that Contractual Services is working closely with the manager of both applications to ensure that updates happen simultaneously.
Supercards can be used in several different capacities on and off campus such as identification cards, meal plans, vending, athletic events, recreational facilities, postal services, library services, and residence hall entry. However, they are limited to purchases from approved vendors only.
Many students wonder if JSU will move toward the card program like Alcorn State’s Gold Card for its students. The ASU Gold Card is the new Money Network Enabled Discover prepaid campus ID card. The cards can be used at ATMs, businesses, and even online. The card has two strips for multi-purpose use. There is a wide strip for activity on campus such as going to the library, dormitory, etc., just like with the Supercard. There is also a thin strip that is used to activate use with a student’s Money Network account.
ASU Gold Cards are accepted in 7 different cities that have a total of 72 vendors accepting the ASU Gold Card off-campus. There is a range of 1 to 18 different vendors in each city that accepts the ASU Gold Card. Unlike JSU students ASU students are able to go to an ATM to remove cash from their personal Money Network enabled Discover Gold Card accounts.
Current ASU junior physical therapy major, Roosevelt Kelly stated that he has not encountered any problems with the ASU Gold Card.
“You can use the Gold Card at every restaurant on campus,” said Kelly. “I can use my aid refund to go shopping for clothes during the school year and do other fun things because the Gold Card works like a prepaid debit card.”
Roosevelt states that there is more than one type of money on the ASU Gold Card. The first type of money is the FLEX money that comes with a meal plan to purchase food and other things on campus, which is similar to JSU Tiger Bucks. The other type is debit money, which is only granted if you have an aid refund for your current semester term.
Pugh stated that other uses for the Supercard are being explored.
“Currently, we are in the process of the identifying additional avenues to enhance the card program, in addition to seeking out the possibility of a “national brand” as well. This way students will have unlimited purchasing power to spend their funds wherever they desire,” said Pugh.
Roberson feels that the controversy surrounding the gas vendors would end if students could use their Supercard like debit cards.
“I hope Jackson State gets with the program and does whatever Alcorn did to get the additional benefits that the ASU Gold card offers. It is a shame that we have stores right down the street from JSU that accept the ASU card, and not the Supercard,” said Roberson.
I believe we as Jsu students should experience the full benefits of our
jsu supercard we should have unlimited places to spend our moneys because us as college students need that assistance because we are broke and is without.. Gas clothes food dental and other vendors. Are vital to young college students. And we should be able to get cash at ATM
.
I also agree that as a JSU student we should be able to use our supercard anywhere as a debt card just like the student at ASU can. When I looked at the list of venders to where I could go to use my JSU card to purchase gas the list shows lots of vendor’s. When I got to the vendor wasting gas to get there, the vendor only let me know that they do not except the JSU card. I was very disappointed to know that the list was out of date and that I only wasted gas trying to find a gas vendor that excepts the JSU supercard! I think this information needs to be updated and that the students should have their supercard converted into a debt card so we can have assess to purchase whatever we need.