More Modern Methods of Money
By Mia Howell
By Mia Howell
Money is one of the grossest things that humans handle. It goes from person to person and you never know who handled it last, or what kind of germs the last person carried.
The average dollar bill has thousands of microbes living on it. In addition to that, DNA from pets and traces of drugs are often found on money. In fact, 80% of dollar bills have traces of cocaine on them.
As a result of the pandemic, many places such as the SAP Center and PayPal Park, have become cashless venues to control the spread of bacteria. The Pioneer student store should follow similar steps. However, instead of completely stopping cash pay, they should offer some form of electronic pay whether that be through Venmo or card. As someone who frequently makes purchases with my debit card or Apple Pay, I have first hand experience at how much easier and more sanitary those payment methods are.
It’s no secret that K-12 students carry the most germs. A study done in 2009 at the University of Utah found that households with no children spend 7% of the year with at least once viral infection. However, in a household with six children, 87% of the year is spent with at least one viral infection. This goes to show that students carry the most germs, so by handling cash especially on school campuses, the spread of germs becomes more prominent.
However, this would not be such an issue if the maintenance of our bathrooms were at least kept in a functioning state. In many cases I’ve often been in the bathroom and much to my dismay, find that the soap dispenser is empty and that there is no running water. Soap and water are the best way to get rid of bacteria. Instead, I have to use hand sanitizer, which can only disinfect if it has 60% or more alcohol. There are also often times when my classrooms are out of hand sanitizer. I now have to carry hand sanitizer with me, as I cannot trust that there will be sanitation items at school.
Not only is cash dirty, but making teenagers responsible for large amounts of money is risky. For prom, only cash or check was accepted. Tickets started at $100, and most people don’t carry that much cash on them, requiring a trip to the bank. However, if a cashless payment method was accepted, that step could be eliminated, making it easier for everyone. Then, students had to carry that much cash with them all day, making sure it wasn’t lost or stolen. Even my own AirPods were stolen, so making sure to safely carry that much cash was already nerve-racking.
Accepting card or Venmo would be beneficial for the school as well. A majority of teenagers have a debit card or some sort of mobile payment service. If the student store accepted these forms of payment, they would make more money. There have been countless times where my friends or I have wanted something from the store but couldn’t get anything because we didn’t have any cash.
As the world continues to progress, more places are transitioning to non-cash payment methods. I think that it is only right that our school joins in on that, making things easier and more hygienic for students.
The average dollar bill has thousands of microbes living on it. In addition to that, DNA from pets and traces of drugs are often found on money. In fact, 80% of dollar bills have traces of cocaine on them.
As a result of the pandemic, many places such as the SAP Center and PayPal Park, have become cashless venues to control the spread of bacteria. The Pioneer student store should follow similar steps. However, instead of completely stopping cash pay, they should offer some form of electronic pay whether that be through Venmo or card. As someone who frequently makes purchases with my debit card or Apple Pay, I have first hand experience at how much easier and more sanitary those payment methods are.
It’s no secret that K-12 students carry the most germs. A study done in 2009 at the University of Utah found that households with no children spend 7% of the year with at least once viral infection. However, in a household with six children, 87% of the year is spent with at least one viral infection. This goes to show that students carry the most germs, so by handling cash especially on school campuses, the spread of germs becomes more prominent.
However, this would not be such an issue if the maintenance of our bathrooms were at least kept in a functioning state. In many cases I’ve often been in the bathroom and much to my dismay, find that the soap dispenser is empty and that there is no running water. Soap and water are the best way to get rid of bacteria. Instead, I have to use hand sanitizer, which can only disinfect if it has 60% or more alcohol. There are also often times when my classrooms are out of hand sanitizer. I now have to carry hand sanitizer with me, as I cannot trust that there will be sanitation items at school.
Not only is cash dirty, but making teenagers responsible for large amounts of money is risky. For prom, only cash or check was accepted. Tickets started at $100, and most people don’t carry that much cash on them, requiring a trip to the bank. However, if a cashless payment method was accepted, that step could be eliminated, making it easier for everyone. Then, students had to carry that much cash with them all day, making sure it wasn’t lost or stolen. Even my own AirPods were stolen, so making sure to safely carry that much cash was already nerve-racking.
Accepting card or Venmo would be beneficial for the school as well. A majority of teenagers have a debit card or some sort of mobile payment service. If the student store accepted these forms of payment, they would make more money. There have been countless times where my friends or I have wanted something from the store but couldn’t get anything because we didn’t have any cash.
As the world continues to progress, more places are transitioning to non-cash payment methods. I think that it is only right that our school joins in on that, making things easier and more hygienic for students.