The Web site matadordiscounts.com compiles discounts available to CSUN students from businesses like phone companies, hair salons and local restaurants.

What started as a habit during Tuesday’s Associated Students (A.S.) Senate meetings for At Large Senator Bobby Tofig, the Web site’s creator, has turned into a campaign to make CSUN students aware of the discounts available to them.

“I didn’t even have the idea for it at first,” Tofig said. “No one was hearing about them except at senate meetings.”

The Web site specifies businesses that are mainly in the Northridge and peripheral area that offer a CSUN discount. Most of the discounts require students to only show their CSUN ID during his or her purchase while others don’t require anything at all.

“No coupons, groups,” Tofig said. “(I want to) keep it simple and nothing to clutter up a student e-mail box with.”

An interactive map on the Web site shows the location of the businesses that offer a CSUN discount. Students can also get directions to the businesses offering the discount through the map.

Discounts for restaurants are more than 10 percent off a student’s purchase with a couple discounts that are 20 percent and 15 percent. Restaurants only require students to show their CSUN ID.

Phone company discounts, on the other hand, require students to contact customer service lines or go to the companies Web site, which matadordiscounts.com provides links to. The company’s Web sites ask for a student’s e-mail, but students need to use the old @csun.edu address to access the student discount. An e-mail will be forwarded to the new CSUN Gmail account, but it won’t work if students use it to access the discount.

Most of the discounts existed before Tofig created his Web site. However, Tofig said he put them in one place for people to find.

Tofig’s idea to gather all the discounts for CSUN students began after a trip in September to Chili’s on Reseda, Tofig wondered if the place had a discount.

“I was surprised they didn’t because they were so close to school,” Tofig said.

Tofig began to compile the discounts in the area, and in September he started to make announcements about the discounts at A.S. Senate meetings. The next step for Tofig, he said, was to see if he could expand the list.

Then in October, Tofig started work on the discount Web site, which took two weeks to complete. A.S. Technology Support aided Tofig in making the site.
“It’s a very good accomplishment that it’s done while I’ve been a senator,” Tofig said.

Tofig wants to make the Web site a go-to place for students to find discounts not only for restaurants, but also for other needs such as oil changes or hardware.

“It thought it would be great to have one consolidated list for people to look, and pick something,” Tofig said. “Whatever you need, you can go there,” he added.

Tofig has negotiated new CSUN discounts with businesses.

Businesses such as Taco Bell and Carl’s Jr. were already available prior to the Web site’s creation. Tofig negotiated discounts from businesses like Black Angus, TGI Fridays, Chili’s and Menchies.

“The business benefit and the students benefit because they save a little money,” Tofig said.

He’s contacted some businesses based on proximity, but has inquired into other businesses from student’s requests.

Tofig said, but he wants to negotiate with independently owned stores before he goes to a chain business.

“You get a little pride in the community, which is good for CSUN to have,” Tofig said.

Students can send their questions and recommendations for a new discount to matadordiscounts@gmail.com.

The newest discounts are streamed at the twitter feed http://twitter.com/matadordiscount.

“The list will always grow from students e-mailing me, and me finding,” Tofig said.