Students Not One With Bison Card Use Off Campus

Junior audio production major, Darlene Cunningham, toted a bag of laundry and an empty laundry card from the fifth floor to the lobby of the Howard Plaza Towers. She throws down the bag, which left her hand sore, and reached for the laundry card machine. But what should be a metal card reader, appeared to be a hole in the wall. "Did someone steal the laundry card machine," she said with confusion on her face. 

This year, students were introduced to the newest Howard University Student Association funded initiative – the Bison One card. This card was introduced as a cashless payment method to be used on and off campus, but many students say the card isn't working.

"I stood in line for a sandwich at Potbelly and my Bison One card was rejected," said Andrew Asare, senior public relations major. He is a bit hesitant to reload his bison bucks. 

"I think this is a good idea to have a cashless and convenient payment method on and off campus. But it's embarrassing when your card is rejected while at an off campus store," Asare said. 

"Students are taking their Bison One card to off campus merchants with only dining dollars on it and their cards read as insufficient funds," John Tatum, director of the Bison One card office, said. Students do not understand the difference between bison bucks and dining dollars, he added.

"The Dining Dollars aren't available for purchase. They are included in every meal plan and only accepted at campus dining locations," Tatum said. 

"Bison Bucks are for sale and can be used on and off campus at selected locations."

The Bison One card allows students to use their identification cards to make purchases at all campus dining locations, selected vending machines, laundry rooms, the Howard University Bookstore, selected retail and dining establishments such as Sports Zone, Manny & Olga's, Yes! Organic Market, Howard Delicatessen, and CVS. 

Tatum said students were asked which off campus establishments were the most visited and letters explaining the One Card program were sent to those sites. He said many showed interest while other businesses, like Potbelly, will take more time because of corporate protocol. 

To use the card, students must log on to www.Managemyid.com, fill out their student ID information and register their card into the system. Students can add increments of $10 up to $500 to their Bison One card and parents can add money to the account. This online system allows card holders to view transaction history, make a deposit and print balances and account statements.

The card does work but "Students aren't fully understanding Bison Bucks and we, the administration, have to fix that," Tatum said.  

The one card initiative took three years of planning and "the program has a long way to go but we are off to a great start." . Howard University is catching up to neighboring universities who launched a similar card on campus years ago. 

"Most of my friends at George Washington and Trinity have a similar system, and their college experience seems seamless," Jason Polls a mechanical engineering major, said.

In the event that a student loses their card, they may report a lost or stolen card online, which will immediately deactivate the card. A $25 dollar reactivation fee will be charged if a student finds their card.

The Bison One card office continues to reach out to other off campus merchants. 

"IHOP in Columbia Heights has shown interest in the Bison One card program," Tatum said. "We [also] hope to distribute football tickets through the One Card program."