I am not a math major, but I heard some disappointments in the Campus Activities Council’s GEEK card system last week. As a member of CAC, I decided to do the math and try and figure out, is it really a waste of money to buy the GEEK card?

We had the First Friday fiesta in the fall where the Goshen College GEEK card holders were given the opportunity to get 15 percent off participating stores and 7 gift cards, worth $20 each for stores like Rachel’s Bread, The Electric Brew, Maple City Market, etc. Then we had the movie on the lawn, which was free for GEEKS and $5 for treats for non-GEEKS (a $5 savings). After that was the fall Kickoff (saving GEEKs $7  plus $10 if you caught a Tee Shirt).

CAC tries to do as much as possible outside in the fall due to the beautiful weather, so we had the Frist Friday Jazz band and swing dance event, which was again free for GEEKs and $7 for non-GEEKs. Seeing how much GC loves to dance, we had a reggae dance party under the tent outside, which saved GEEKs $2. In collaboration with the English department, we then had our open mic Poetry cafe, which was free for everyone. We ended the fall semester with a comedy night (adding another $5 on savings).  The total  cost, if you decided to go to each one of the events, is well over the $35 fall semester cost of a GEEK card.

In addition, when CAC was selling GEEK cards, we gave each student a fair chance to get anything from $5 to $15 off. Student leaders got 50 percent off. Most of the student body did not pay $35 for their GEEKS cards. Moreover, we had our Spring Kick off (+$7 and Tee shirt $10). So once you do the math, I think a GEEK card holder is in a profitable situation at this point.

Not to forget that we have some exciting Hour-After’s coming up as well as some GEEK initiated brand new events- Valentine’s Day special. Even if people don’t want to go to most of the events, it’s still worth it if they make it out to 2 big events a semester

I understand times are tough and every penny counts, but a student is still saving more by going to these events on campus than a nice dinner with friends. Besides there is a great joy in seeing your friends and peers perform and show their remarkable talents.

CAC takes their students comments very seriously; we want to students to know that we want to do everything to entertain them. Keep an eye out for further announcements on upcoming events–we hope to satisfy your fun quota!