Student convenience continues to grow as more off-campus stores and restaurants accept Diamond Dollars as payment.
With the help of Temple Student Government and the Diamond Dollars Office, City View Pizza and all of the Shops at Avenue North now accept Diamond Dollars. Scott Brannan, director of the Diamond Dollars Office, said he worked long and hard to get this and is finally successful.
“I’m really happy,” Brannan said. “We’ve been trying to get this for a long time. It’s a great move, and it’s been handled very well. I think it’s a great advantage for everyone –students, administration and vendors.”
TSG, particularly treasurer Brad Hoffman, played a small, but important role in adding more Diamond Dollars vendors. Members of the Student Finances Committee approached Hoffman about getting more places around campus to accept Diamond Dollars. Hoffman and his committee presented an organized list of questions and suggestions to Brannan, who had already been actively working on getting more vendors.
“Students came to me saying they wanted more places for Diamond Dollars on campus, and I used TSG’s support to get it through to the office. It was mainly just to expedite the process and show [Brannan] that it was really a pressing need for students,” Hoffman said.
The process of getting new vendors is fairly simple. The businesses come to Brannan, he then tells them what equipment they need and where to buy it. The businesses sign a contract and provide basic information about their company to get them into the Diamond Dollars system. Also, they must agree to verify the student’s Owl Card and provide a receipt for every transaction. The whole process takes about two weeks.
The original problem Brannan faced was the issue of security. It is easier to protect students’ information the closer they are to campus. This issue was resolved by only adding vendors that are located within the safety patrol zone, the area between 10th and 16th streets and Jefferson and Susquehanna avenues.
Keeping the vendors within this location ensures students’ safety, Brannan said.
Most students said they are happy about the availability of new Diamond Dollars locations.
“I’m psyched they have Diamond Dollars now. I eat there all the time,” sophomore education major Danny Doherty said of City View Pizza. “You get sick of the [Student Center] and J&H. It’s good to eat somewhere different.”
Diamond Dollars will soon be accepted at the Pearl Theatre, the Owl’s Nest, the UPS Store and $1, $2, $3 Store.
“If students have merchants that they’d like to be using, have the merchants contact us, and we’ll try to get them in the program,” Brannan said.
Brannan is also trying to get Diamond Dollars at the Health Sciences Center, the Dental School and the Ambler Campus, but the merchants must contact him.
“This current administration is really focused on what the students need and what they want,” Brannan said. “It’s a really good administration, and I’m really happy with the results. We always get excited about it around here. It’s really exciting.”
Rebecca Hale can be reached at rebecca.hale@temple.edu.
