Printed yellow slips of paper may not mean much to most students, but for those enrolled in Barrett, The Honors College, they unlock an exclusive parallel economy.
Barrett Bucks are the honors college currency that students can use and trade in for items at Barrett stores.
"Barrett Bucks are the currency, or almost like a reward currency that Barrett, The Honors College, uses for their students here at ASU," Ada Poormon, a Barrett store worker and a sophomore studying community health, said. "It is pan-campus, so it's used across all four campuses across the valley."
Barrett students can earn these bucks through multiple ways, like wearing gold on Fridays, attending advising appointments and Barrett programs, as well as engaging in the honors community.
Since many other things in students' lives cost real money, the Barrett Store prides itself on making sure students do not spend more money than they need to.
"We're college students, we're broke," Poormon said. "Let's face it, we pay so much money to attend school … you don't have to spend your own money, and you get volunteer hours out of it. You can get involved. You're not sitting in your room in the dark, brain-rotting on social media. You're helping out."
READ MORE: Barrett students react to increasing fees, evaluating the college's worth
Each campus has its own Barrett Buck design with a symbol that embodies the campus. The Polytechnic design has a water tower, the downtown design is the "Her Secret is Patience" sculpture, and the Tempe and West campus designs are their respective Barrett buildings.
While each buck has its designated campus symbol, students can use this currency on all campuses. Students can purchase items like hoodies, notebooks and headphones with the rewards they receive.
The items sold are all Barrett-branded. Some items are seasonal, depending on which campus a student is shopping at, making certain items unique to specific campuses.
"You could use a set amount and exchange it for clothing, accessories, hats, etc. at the Barrett Store, and each campus has its own store," Stanley Zhang, a Barrett Store worker and a junior studying kinesiology, said. "The inventory depends on what the program coordinator at each campus (chooses) to buy."
Barrett Bucks can also be saved up over time and do not reset at the semester mark as Maroon and Gold dollars do.
Zhang said he has been saving up since his freshman year and has a little less than 200 Barrett Bucks, which helps inspire friendly competition among students.
While the swag is the physical reward from the store, the real focus is on how students get the bucks, Lexxus Andrews, the Barrett, The Honors College program coordinator for the Downtown Phoenix campus, said.
"They're getting two things out of it, whether it's getting out of their comfort zone, doing something fun, plus getting that Barrett Buck," Andrews said.
The currency helps make connections between students as well as faculty, ultimately tightening the Barrett family bond and honoring the college's mission statement.
"You want to start that relationship with students; if you don't start the relationship with students and create that community and that bond, then you lose the retention," Andrews said. "But when you create that bond and unity and community, people want to stay."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Jack McCarthy and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at galawre3@asu.edu.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Grace Lawrence is a reporter for the community culture desk at The Arizona State Press. This is her 1st semester working with The State Press.
