HSA Projects No Deficit For First Time Since '68

Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) is projecting a break-even year this year for the first time since 1968.

At the annual meeting of HSA members last night in Boylston Auditorium, HSA president Charles E. Talmage '71said the student organization will be able to avoid a deficit because of extensive budgetary cutbacks and the sale of two HSA sub-divisions.

This fall, HSA sold its computer programming division-CPSI-as well as the Information Gathering Service. Both had been operating in the red.

HSA also trimmed its corporate budget by over $15,000 by eliminating its advertising and promotion agency, closing its office at 993 Mass Ave., cutting rent commitments at the HSA central office at 2 Bow Street, and lowering wages for full-time staff members.

HSA recorded a total loss in excess of $50.000 during the last two years. As a result, expansion has been impossible.

"Now that the break-even point is realized, we can consider expansion and take aim at increasing the number of student jobs during the upcoming year." Talmage said.

The Admissions Office has settled on a figure of 2000 scholarship students for the academic year 1971-72. Each student will be expected to earn or borrow an average of $850, not including summer employment.

The Student Employment Office will provide jobs accounting for about $800,000 of the total $1,700,000 of needed earnings. "That leaves $900.000 up for grabs, and we're going to go after it much harder than in the past," Talmake said.

HSA currently contracts about $165,000 of student jobs each year.

Talmage also said an effort will be made this spring to involve more-students in the administration of the student agencies.

"We've found that the cost of qualified full-time people is much higher than a combination of qualified students, so in the future we will try to subdivide agencies to maintain management by students," he explained.

HSA members elected five new student directors, a clerk and a treasurer at last night's meeting. They also passed unanimously three revisions to the HSA by-laws adopted last year.