Campus needs more cash machines

By Andrea Vukcevic
Features Editor

There should be more than one ATM on campus.

Here’s a scenario that I’ve seen happen at Bert’s a dozen times since I’ve been at UNCP:

A freshman walks in confidently at lunchtime with money in his wallet. He grabs a burger, fries, a Coke and maybe a cookie. He waits in line to pay and snacks on his fries and takes a sip of his drink. He even sighs impatiently so everyone in the line can hear him.

Finally, it’s his turn, and he can’t wait to pay and sit down because he’s hungry. Alas! He’s only got a crumpled buck that he mistook for a five-dollar bill. He’s got a credit card, but it’s no good – Bert’s doesn’t take debit or credit cards. So, the embarrassed freshman puts his food aside and tells the irritated cashier he has to go to the ATM before he can pay his debt.

Now, the sheepish freshman must trudge through the rain or cold or blazing hot sun, through a commuter parking lot to Cashpoints, the only ATM on campus.

What’s the moral of this story?

Cashpoints is great for commuters who need an ATM on their way home, but what about students who frequent that cash-only dining establishment next to the cafeteria?

There’s also the issue with ATM distribution in town. At least four ATMs serve Pembroke’s 2,700 inhabitants just along the main commercial strip (from Food Lion to Lumbee Guaranty Bank). But there’s only one for the thousands of UNCP residents!

Put at least one ATM in the U.C. And why not one in the D.F. Lowry building? It’s next to the bookstore and accessible 24-hours-a-day.