Word on the Street
Tweet
Daniel Wilson
Shane Dick
Claire Kafer
Kalleigh Laudstra
Winifred Perla
Do you know anyone who has abused their Bridge Card?
“Yes, I know four girls who live in a house. All of them have Bridge Cards and all of them get $200 for groceries each. They also get their rent paid through the school or something like that and they all have jobs. They’re getting $800 for groceries when they really don’t need it. I feel like it’s a little unnecessary and a waste of money.”
Kalleigh Laudstra
media arts and technology sophomore
“Uh, no. The only people I know who have one , which are relatively few, don’t abuse their Bridge Cards. In fact, they generally have more than they necessarily need for the month.”
Daniel Wilson
philosophy and psychology junior
“Actually, I think everyone who has a Bridge Card as a college student abuses it because college students are much richer than most of the population.”
Winifred Perla
mathematics junior
“I know a couple of people who have taken them to grocery stores and used them to buy things that wouldn’t technically qualify as Bridge Card purchases. (Things) like alcohol, cigarettes, stuff for parties, cups, beer pong balls, the whole nine yards.”
Claire Kafer
MSU alumna
“I knew a couple people that not only had all their groceries but their gas, their car, their insurance, their rent, paid for by their parents and still got a Bridge Card so that they could drink on the weekends a lot more cheaply.”
Shane Dicks
MSU alumnus
Commentary
Add your $0.02, go to the comment form or follow the comment feed
America
(10/02/09 2:17pm)Report
Two things:
1.) Winifred, how are college students much richer than the population? I just graduated a few years ago, but when I was in college, I worked full-time in the summer and 25-30 hours during the school year in retail. The most I made in a year was about $12,000 — well under the poverty level. Mommy and daddy weren’t supporting me either, so I fail to see how I was richer than most of the population. Perhaps you’re talking about the population of India?
2.) Can you really buy alcohol and cigarettes with Bridge cards? I’m pretty sure you can only buy food.
Allison
(10/05/09 12:38pm)Report
America (aka the previous commenter), my understanding is that there are different levels to the amount of aid the Bridge Card provides. I have two friends who go to CMU and both have Bridge Cards (kind of like credit cards but paid for by the state), but they just use it to buy groceries and aren’t allowed to use it to buy alcohol or cigarettes or anything like that. Other people receive both the credit card AND cash, and that’s where the problems settle in — people use the cash allowance to purchase things other than groceries. The cash supplement is supposed to allow people the freedom and ability to make their own choices about what to spend their money on — to teach them money management. That’s where the abuse happens, as far as I know.
Andrew
(10/06/09 9:45am)Report
I refuse to get a Bridge Card because it is not my place to do so. I am not independent of my parents, and they do help out with food. However, I do pay for a lot, and still feel it is not okay for me to use the welfare system. The program is not meant for your average college student, regardless of what one may tell you. If you can go party then you can work to buy food. There are no excuses to be using one of these cards in college unless you are working and still having trouble making ends meet(and NOT partying all weekend/going to the mall shopping/eating out all the time).
Erin
(10/07/09 12:59pm)Report
“Actually, I think everyone who has a Bridge Card as a college student abuses it because college students are much richer than most of the population.”
….what?
If your a lot richer than most of the population, good for you.
I’m not. And there are plenty of other poor college students as well.
I do not live with my parent. Me and my parents do not buy food together. Therefore I am eligible for a bridge card regardless of my parents situation.
If your parents give you money for food or buy food for you, good for you, don’t apply for a bridge card, but that doesn’t mean those of us who need are abusing it because your parents pay for your groceries.
“Can you really buy alcohol and cigarettes with Bridge cards?”
Not if you have it for food assistance. Both food assistance and FIP cash assistance go on a bridge card. Many college students qualify for food assistance. Few qualify for FIP. Most college students you see with a bridge card will only have the food assistance aspect of it, which cannot be used to receive cash (legally), and cannot be used to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. The only way to purchase alcohol or cigarettes with food assistance is to illegally sell the card to someone for cash. If you know someone who does that, then report it, it’s illegal.
People seem to not understand how these programs work. 1. there seems to be massive misunderstanding about what qualifies or disqualifies a person when it comes to food assistance. 2. People think the cash assistance is part of the food assistance program. It’s not. It’s part of the Family Independence Program which is Michigan’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program
AAA
(10/12/09 1:43pm)Report
I get really mad when I see people using Bridge cards at convenience stores and gas stations for overpriced candy and snacks. They should only be accepted at grocery stores and reasonable places and used for REAL FOOD.