New ASG app available for all students

Screenshot of the ASG app available in the App Store. Saddleback ASG | App Store

The ASG office released their new app last month. Students who have purchased the ASG sticker will now be able to once again have access to local discounts and much more.

During the Fall semester of 2021, the ASG office had discontinued the practice of handing out small discount booklets to ASG sticker holders. These little booklets offered a variety of deals for local restaurants, entertainment and certain Saddleback events, like sports or concerts.

The reason for this discontinuation was because the office was in the process of developing a new app that would effectively replace the booklets. This new app includes a range of useful features and can be downloaded on both Samsung smartphones and iPhones.

Originally, it was expected to be released a few months ago, but the app was facing obstacles with Apple. The beta version, however, is now available in the Play Store and Apple App Store, though it is still incomplete and multiple features are still missing or not fully functional.

“The plan was to launch it last Fall,” Hargraves said. “Unfortunately, we’re running into some issues with the actual app itself within the App Store.”

With the app, which is available to all students for free, users will be able to access national discounts, which are discounts anybody can access like restaurant Rewards programs. They will also be able to receive the latest news from ASG regarding events, activities and other announcements.

Chris Hargraves, the director of student life, said that the office had “always talked about needing some sort of digital component” and teamed up with an app creation company to make it happen.

“We wanted to make it a lot more accessible, you know, with the pandemic and everything being virtual,” Hargraves said. “It really brought it to light that, yes, we really need to start to do something and so, we started working with a company to develop an app that will house quite a variety of information but, most importantly, it’ll have national discounts as well as local discounts.”

The local discounts were originally only for ASG sticker holders, who were able to pick up little booklets with discount stickers within them. However, Hargraves stated that not everyone would come to claim them for one reason or another. This is why accessibility is one of the main concerns for this project.

Since the app can be accessed by anybody, it would be unfair if any students, specifically those who did not pay the $10 ASG fee, received all the benefits a sticker holder would receive. Therefore, a passcode will be provided by the ASG office to students who have bought a sticker that’ll give them access to exclusive deals and benefits.

“So the app itself will be just general, but there’ll be certain areas that you’ll need a passcode that we provide to the stamp holders to be able to access that portion of the app,” Hargraves said. “So, there’ll be local deals. We’ll also be able to do push notifications and some other things for anybody who has the app.”

Since the app is technically still in production, this feature has yet to be added and it is uncertain when exactly it’ll pop up. Hargraves hopes it’ll all be complete by Fall 2022.

The only thing that cannot be accessed through the app are the larger discounts, like for local theme parks and movie tickets. Those will still have to be purchased in-person at the ASG office at SSC 207.

For those interested in getting an ASG sticker, it can be bought on MySite while undergoing the registration process or in-person at the Student Payment office in SSC 208.

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