7 minute read
Cash in on student discounts
Being an Aggie comes with unique deals, benefits
By Nicholas Gutteridge @nico_gjc
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Texas A&M offers a suite of exclusive deals, perks and discounts for current and former students, with most having only one requirement: be an Aggie.
Starting small, A&M’s technology services offer free software for students, such as Microsoft 365 and Matlab, totaling 19 different pieces of software on the official website.
But having a student email is just as important. With it, students can get a free Canva Pro subscription or enroll in Spotify’s student discount, lowering their cost to $5.99 a month and getting them access to Hulu for $1.99 a month.
Amazon Prime also offers six months free if students sign up with an A&M email, with the subscription half-off for $7.49 per month once the trial is up. Having a student email also guarantees students a one-time discount — up to 40% — on any technology: laptops, printers, accessories and more.
Target offers exclusive discount deals if students verify their status through Target Circle.
If students forgot to pick up any last-minute necessities, Target offers a one-time 20% discount off your cart until Aug. 26.
Students and faculty also have access to a personal webpage they can create under the A&M banner. The university also offers access to the Jobs For Aggies site, a hiring service open exclusively to current and former students. The site hosts 2,931 full-time and part-time jobs, internships and co-ops as of August, with positions available for Aggies in most major cities.
A&M also partnered with PerksConnect to reach students with a large number of specials: Instacart deals, Disney World tickets, gym membership deals and more.
It goes without saying, but being a student also gives access to A&M’s large alumni network: over 500,000 former students strong, ready to assist their fellow Aggies.
Multiple centers are also on the campus itself. The Math Learning Center assists students with the major math courses in the university: MATH 151, 140, 142, 151, 152, 251, 304, 308, 409, 412 and 470.
The Science Peer Learning Center does the same for major science courses, and the
CHAMPION CONTINUED FROM PG. A1
Texas A&M Today.
The debut occurred in an event in front of John J. Koldus building next to the Ice Cream Carnival. It featured a live DJ, food, a photo booth and a prize wheel.
The general manager of A&M’s Barnes & Noble, Holley Scott, shared the excitement.
“This shop brings excitement with new signage, fixtures, displays, lighting and most importantly, an expanded Champion product line in both men’s and women’s apparel,” Scott said. “We’re super excited for the students to see all the new merchandise in our Champion Station when they arrive back on campus during Howdy Week.”
Hinckley said this deal was “just the beginning.”
“We have much more on the horizon, including a ’70s vault collection rolling out in 2024,” Hinckley said.
At the event, Champion merchandise was given out by staff, one of which being Makenzie Henton, an apparel merchandising major from Baylor University and intern for Champion.
“So we’ve been super excited because we’re trying to better our partnership with A&M and get more students on campus involved, so it’s been a really good turnout so far,” Henton said. “We’re happy to see all the students be super excited about the brand.”
Henton came to College Station to help staff the Howdy Week event.
“Aggieland has got a pretty good partnership, actually,” Henton said. “We have our Champion capitol in the bookstore, too, so that’s this big, special tribute to Champion products. It’s been really, really cool to see. It’s definitely growing — we’re still fostering it, nurturing it, but it’s grown pretty big.”
Thousands of students attended both events, such as sport management freshman Luke Rasmussen.
“I saw that there were events [on campus], but I didn’t expect it to be this big,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said he was excited about the champion apparel as well.
“It’s sweet,” Rasmussen said. “It’s awesome, it’s huge. Yeah, [the Champion Station] is a great setup.”
University Writing Center assists and teaches all students with their oral and written work for free.
The Career Center gives professional career advice and resume guidance alongside mock interviews. It also provides students with VMock: an AI assistant that works to optimize resumes.
One of the largest perks Aggies gets comes from university libraries. With 1,266 databases, the libraries provide students with some of the most extensive resources yet, such as a free login to AncestryLibrary or Anatomy.tv, a full suite of interactive models of the human body.
The libraries also provide access to every major science database, from JSTOR to ScienceDirect, with the option to submit a form requesting the library to purchase access to a new database if a student or faculty member needs research provided by it.
Students can also reserve a Rosetta Stone language learning account for up to six weeks at the library, with wait times of around one week.
The video library in the Annex allows students to rent almost any movie, show or music, and if the library doesn’t have it, a new copy will be ordered. That, alongside the nearly 6 million volumes of books in the multiple libraries across campus, ensures Aggies never run dry of things to do.
But the libraries aren’t done yet. Any student on campus can rent a large assortment of equipment for free, from headphones, microphones, projectors and webcams to laptops, camcorders, action cameras and digital cameras, alongside accessories for everything.
The equipment can be used anywhere, but oftentimes, it isn’t needed, as the library also offers a free studio space students can reserve with professional audio, video and lighting services available in it.
Being on campus also has more than a few perks attached: multiple movies, plays and shows often play at the Rudder Auditorium and Rudder Theater, offering free showings throughout the year. In the spring 2023 semester, the Memorial Student Complex Aggie Cinema played “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Top Gun: Maverick” at the Rudder Theater.
And if students would prefer not to leave their dorms? No worries, MSC Aggie Cinema has them covered with a website allowing free access to hundreds of the latest movies, the only stipulation being a connection to campus Wi-Fi.
-ly intelligent and energetic and ambitious students,” Welsh said. “We’ve got a phenomenally intelligent faculty, and we’ve got phenomenally dedicated, smart, street-smart staff.”
Welsh acknowledged that the university has received immense national media attention due to multiple controversies.
In June, the prospective journalism director, Kathleen McElroy, announced she would be returning to the University of Texas after complications with her job offer; following these events, the College of Arts and Sciences interim dean, José Luis Bermúdez, stepped down on July 17. Only days later, former President M. Katherine Banks resigned and retired on June 21 due to media attention negatively affecting the university.
“I think it’s also a time to remind ourselves that these recent incidents, they don’t identify [A&M] as an institution,” Welsh said. “They will do that if we let it. That’s not who we are. That’s not who we’re going to be in. So let’s get back to doing things the right way all the time. Let’s get back to embracing our core values. Let’s get back to focusing on that mission of preparing [students] to go change the world.”
Welsh emphasized the importance of students, staff and faculty being involved in the conversation to help improve the university.
“All of them need to be in the discussion,” decisions could not be made by one person and would not be done quickly.
Speaker-elect Angie Hill Price said she was concerned by unclear guidance regarding Senate Bill 17, or SB 17, implementation. SB 17 was recently signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June and bans diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, offices.
Welsh said he met with the Office of General Counsel and was “generally pleased” with their interpretation of SB 17.
“In general, if it is a student organization, then it’s fine to continue, we can support it,” Welsh said. “Faculty and staff advisors are OK for those organizations as long as we provide the same support to any other organization similar in nature. The only specific references to shutting this down were to things … activities that had DEI in the title.”
Senator Matthew Sachs said it was important to verify allegations published in Inside Higher Education. In the article, an anonymous member of Banks’ cabinet said leadership instructed MGT Consulting to present their own proposals as organic recommendations in the final report.
Welsh said. “They need to be part of our solutions — they need to be — have their voice heard in what we do going forward.”
To incoming students, Welsh encouraged Aggies to value that they’re attending A&M and said the opportunities are unbelievable.
“The people you’re sitting in studying beside or hanging out with are worldclass,” Welsh said. “They’re just unbelievably great people, and all of them have a kind of this look to the future. This is going to be good for everybody.
“Aggies, you’re gonna make this city better,” Welsh said. “They’re gonna make the state better. They’re gonna make the nation better. They’re gonna make the world better and be glad you’re part of that movement. There is no place that presents students more opportunity than this — or more fun, in my opinion.”
Welsh said the world needs Aggies that bring their brain, smile and energy to campus in College Station.
“Here’s where you develop your A-game and take it with you as you’re charged off campus at the end.”
To help achieve his vision for A&M, Welsh asked students to do one thing: “Be great at what you do, whatever that is.”
Welsh said he was not familiar with the article.
“My first concern right now would be, what do we do? Undo it all?” Welsh said. “There were opportunities for people to get engaged in this. We have everybody’s input still on file with the different initiatives.”
Senator Debjyoti Banerjee asked if Welsh intended to investigate past appointments and determine if anyone else inappropriately interfered with negotiations with McElroy. Welsh said he did not think doing so would be a “good use of resources” and that modifications to McElroy’s contract were only made by Banks and the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“If we’re looking for more people to blame, I’m just not that guy,” Welsh said. The full meeting can be viewed on the faculty senate’s YouTube page.