Co-op board cites three action avenues
By MIKE PETRYNI
Of the Emerald
The Co-op Board of Directors has
planned three definite avenues in which to
attack the Co-op’s problems.
These avenues were given the general
headings of textbooks, merchandising and
communications at their meeting Wed
nesday.
Board director Steve Cassani recently
conducted interviews with students.
During the course of these interviews it
became apparent what were many of the
primary concerns of students regarding
the Co-op.
“The first concern of the students, of
course, is the price of textbooks,” Cassani
said. “In each instance the students in
dicated that the store should initiate
severe pressure with other book stores to
affect the prices set by the book
publishers.”
Board directors Steve Baker, Phil
Barnhart, and Colleen Swanton have been
appointed to attack the textbook problem.
They said they will study the
feasibility of initiating pressure on
publishers for lower prices. Other plans
are to discourage changing of texts by
teachers from term to term so that more
used books will be available. They said
they will try to resolve the problem of
constantly shipping in texts and shipping
out used texts; plus the problem of
overshipment of texts. Precise ordering of
texts by the profs would decrease much of
the cost of this shipping between the store
and the publishers.
They said they hoped to set up more
improved communication with the library
so that the library will stock books which
are in especially high demand at the Co-op.
In the interviews conducted by
Cassani, he said, merchandising of the
items available on the first floor of the Co
op was a subiect of student concern.
“It was a problem of ‘you-show-me
any-item-there-andril-show-you
someplace-in-town-where-I-can-get-it
cheaper,’ ” Cassani said. “We also have a
concern for display and atmosphere too.
The people expressed concern that ‘one
doesn’t feel as one should in the student’s
own store.' ”
The board said it has planned how to
attack this problem. Director Fred Hugi
said he will form a liason with the business
school so that the board will have available
intensive research on the Co-op operation.
He hopes that business school teachers will
allow students to pick areas in the Co-op as
projects for analysis. With this research
available the board hopes to streamline
the areas in the store that may not be
filling student needs and open avenues for
increased consideration of those needs.
All of the investigatory research will
be coordinated through the Board of
Directors, G.L. Hensen, manager of the
store, and the teacher of the student in
volved.
Phil Barnhart, president of the Board,
said, “We are always looking for the an
swers to two questions. What are student
needs? Can we supply it for less? If we
don’t answer both, one negates the other.”
In connection with that, Hugi said he
will study the possibility of buying mer
chandise in greater bulk and a renewed
consideration of the sources of supply,
with the view of cutting costs.
Cassani reported that his interviewing
showed that there is a breakdown in
communication between the Board and the
student body they represent. “There was
repeated insistence of failure of the way
the store is dealing with the public,” he
said. ‘ There was no feeling for the
operation of the Board.”
The Board said it plans to take special
pains to reopen this communication.
Directors Cassani and Jeff Weller plan to
write a series of articles on the operations
of the Co-op. The articles will be to im
prove understanding of the problems the
store faces in its operations from the
rebate policy to cost-profit margins. They
will set up a table, also, on the EMU
terrace so that students may air their
complaints about the Co-op.
Gift: Fair to be held
YMCA—YWCA’s International
Gift Fair will provide a chance
for students and members of the
community to do their Christmas
shopping early.
Scheduled for Nov. 29 through
Dec. 5, the fair will offer im
ported goods from Taiwan, the
Phillipines, Africa, Yugoslavia,
Mexico, Ecuador, and Finland. It
willl be held in room 101, Erb
Memorial Union weekdays from
9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 29
from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and
Saturday Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to
12 p.m.
Items such as wood carvings,
jewelry, candles, ceramics,
glassware, candy and clothing
will be offered at moderate
prices.
SDG probes reinstatement
Policies concerning probation,
disqualification, and rein
statement were discussed by the
Scholastic Deficiency Committee
(SDC) at two meetings this past
week.
On the question of rein
statement, the committee
decided that for now present
guidelines would be followed and
the SDC would attempt to evolve
a set of guidelines during the year
based on the individual cases
brought before the committee.
Until then, the committee will
evaluate how time away from the
University was spent; military
service, employment, prolonged
illness, or academic work done at
other institutions.
SDC also decided that going on
and off probation would be
automatic, according to the
standards printed in the time
schedule and that latitude be
given the Registrar to cancel
probation actions based on
receipt of late grades which
change apparent status.
Grads approve
EMU addition
The Graduate Student Council
voted Wednesday to support the
proposed addition to the EMU.
The action followed a
presentation of the proposed
plans by Architect George
Sheldon.
IS CONV'NG
NOV. 1*
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ASUO and University Folk Music Club
present
FOLK MUSIC CONCERT
FEATURING
Lontemporary and Old Time
Country Folk Music
SWEETS MILL STRING BAND,
JON add JIM LONEY
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14
7:30 pm
EMU BALLROOM
Admission 50°