Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

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PSU students take advantage of 10% discount With many people feeling a financial crunch last year, the PSU Student Discount Card became quite popular. The discount card is some- thing good for the students and helps the community ' said Ken Boyer, Wichita senior and Student Government Commissioner. The Student Discount Card was originated through the Student Government Associ- ation. According to Boyer, more businesses are expected to honor the new 1987 card. Thirty-eight businesses hon- ored the 1986 card and ac- cording to Boyer, only one of the business didn't want to participate on the 1987 card. Boyer said that when the card is presented to certain businesses, then students re- ceived a ten percent discount. Although the card is good on most items, there are some restrictions ' Boyer said. A list of those restrictions was pre- sented to students when they picked up their cards. Three thousand cards were printed last year and we only had thirty-six left over ' Boyer said. According to Boyer, stu- dents could pick up their dis- count card at the Student Gov- ernment Association office last year. We might go to organiza- tional meetings to hand them out to students next year. Boyer said that the cards were available throughout the year in the Student Govern- ment Association office and will be again next year. Even though a ten percent discount may not seem like a lot to some people, for those students that felt the financial crunch, it was very useful. - Laura Todd. 20 Student Discount Card

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It's nol unusual to drive down the streets of Pittsburg and see aban doned buildings like this one, Pitts- burg used to be a thriving mining town many years ago. business. Mid-America, Inc., of Parsons, the 10-county de- velopment agency, and the Kansas Department of Eco- nomic Development are con- nected to this center which will be situated in Shirk Hall. The university has estab- lished an economic develop- ment coordinating council to coordinate the activities of the university so that we make the maximum impact and can integrate the efforts of those two areas (business and tech- nology) to that particular pur- pose, Hay said. The employment situation in the city of Pittsburg is not as strong as we'd like it to be. Economic development is a major concern that the univer- sity has for the community, he said. Regarding Pittsburg's econ- omy, Linda Ham, executive di- rector of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, said, We're just going through a changing period, and I feel optimistic that we are heading the right direction, but improv- ing the economy will take time. When the farm economy is bad, it's hard to just change overnight, she said. Ham said the chamber is of- ten asked why it cannot bring new industry to town. She ex- plained that Kansas state taxes hamper this. The city and state need to be able to offer lower state taxes and portions of funding for new industries. Not being able to do so, I think, has hurt the state of Kansas. Pittsburg's growth will come from existing businesses in- creasing in their size, Ham said, and Wilson agreed, say- ing that creating jobs from within reather than without is the best hope for the economy. Examples of existing busi- ness expansion should be evi- dent by the Fall of 1987, Marie Packaging Company relocat- ed in Pittsburg this past year, and employs approximately 35 workers with plans of increas- ing to approximately 90 work- ers in a couple of years, Roitz said. Regarding McNally Pitts- burg, Inc., Ham said approxi- mately 80 people have been let go in the recent layoffs, but “we are very optimistic that when they do start getting con- tracts in other areas that they will be hiring back, One of the positive things is the strengthening of the rela- tionship between the commu- nity and the university by the two working together toward a bright economic future. Hay thinks there is a very strong interrelationship be- tween any university and its community. That's particularly true for Pittsburg State University, he said. Besides many of the stu- dents coming from the com- munity, the university buys services from the city police and fire protection, and ihe streets which are almost exclu- sively city streets, Hay said. Student involvement in community activities has al- ways been an important role in developing a working relation- ship. The fact that students play a part in, for example, fund drives that benefit various causes such as the United Way, shows citizens of the community that students care about more than studies and good times. Hay said. Roitz said that some citizens, mainly blue collar workers, are taking advantage of night courses, and educational and entertainment activities of- fered by the university. He said it is true that Pitts- burg is not a university town like Lawrence or Manhattan, but, on the other hand. I've seen very startling differences in progress on making it more compatible - more of a college town. Roitz credited some of this progress to former PSU Presi- dent Jim Appleberry, and to President Wilson, saying that both have been concerned with making the relationship stronger. Ham said; Dr. Wilson and the Cham- ber of Commerce and the City of Pittsburg all have a really good working relationship, and the lines of communica- tion are always open. We help each other and support each other because we know lhat if one improves, the other one's going to improve. It's walking hand-in-hand. - Bonnie L Taylor 19

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 Student Discount Card 10% Off Designated items Good t f»art c p itrtg Busin »» » Only Expires July 31. 1W»7 X» 4Ci 1IOO Knowing which businesses honor ihe PSU student discount card some- times helps students decide where to shop. This PSU student receives her 10% discount at Bowl us Sporting Good, The PSU discount card is destribut ed each year by Ihe Student Govern- ment Association. It isn't unusual to lind it among other important credit cards. Buzz Palmer Student Discount Card 21 Melanie Dietz