Access moves off-campus

By Micheal Moeschler

Students' dining options got a little bigger as two local restaurants began accepting university Access cards last week.

"We thought it would be good for students to have more options with their cards, especially with food purchases," said Associated Students (AS) senator Francisco Sibal. "It's not the dining points plan, but it's still pretty convenient."

Stuft Pizza and Yum-Yum Tree (formerly Juice Society) have joined together with the Access office to allow students the option to pay for meals with their Flex points instead of paying with cash. Stuft Pizza is also offering students a 15 percent discount when they present their card.

Jane Barrantes, director of the Access card office, was initially hesitant of the move off-campus because providers of the Access system would have charged a high amount for the rights to take the cards outside of university food programs, Sibal noted. Fortunately, the new contract had no such charges.

Loyola-Marymount University, which based their card system on Santa Clara's, currently has 24 off-campus locations accepting cards at both food vendors and even some gas stations. Using LMU as a guide, Barrantes and members of AS created a list of possible businesses where students would be interested in using their Flex account money.

Sibal is optimistic that other local businesses will follow Stuft Pizza and Yum-Yum Tree's lead. "Other places that we're exploring include Copy Craft and The Hungry Hound," said Sibal. "Mondo Burrito and University Chicken have not signed on yet, but they had expressed a high amount of interest."