As college students, we’re always looking to save money. This can be hard to do given the ever-present need for rent, groceries, pizza and trips to the movies with friends. It is infinitely easier to save money when we have someone else working with us.

Some nearby businesses already have discounts in place on a national level. Arby’s and Papa John’s both offer a discount with the presentation of a student ID.

Emporia’s local Pizza Ranch has special buffet deals for students on certain nights. Flinthills 8 Theatre on Industrial Road also offers discounted tickets to students. ESU, like other Kansas colleges, also works with large-scale amusement parks and events, like Worlds of Fun and the Renaissance Festival, to save students a bit of cash on admission prices.

Currently, there are online deals that exist for students, but those, too, are on the national level. They are less for staple necessities, like milk and butter, and more for the cost of material things, essential or not.

And…that’s about it.

True, near the beginning of the year, dorm residents are presented with a bag of coupons – for Planet Sub, Great Clips and Taco Bell, to name a few – that make purchasing a few fun and crucial materials a bit easier.

However, more frequented venues, like grocery stores, do not have any specifically student-based discounts. It’s true that students often patronize fast food establishments, but those who need a more constant and potentially healthier stock of food will purchase groceries.

The creation of a discount for students at grocery stores would not only save students money, but would provide more long term business for the cooperating establishments, as the market would open up to a greater audience of shoppers. If not a discount, then some kind of loyalty program that rewards student shoppers, with items or discounts they really need, would be a step in the right direction.