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Entrepreneurs Say HSA Has an Unfair Monopoly

By Sarah M. Durham

Students seeking to start businesses on campus are facing administrative roadblocks, and may be forced to shut down operations, members of the Harvard Fntrepeneuts Club have charged.

Because College regulations allow only the Harvard Student Agencies (HSA)to advertise goads and services on campus beyond college newspaper advertisements-several student-run enterprises are threatened with extinction, said Allan B. Moore, president of the 33-member Entrepreneurs Club.

"We have repeatedly been denied permission to advertise of campus," Moore said, "It's kind of a shame because the student market is a great kind of market," he added.

Many members of the Entrepreneurs Club currently operate off-campus businesses and, we cording to Moore, lose profits because of their inability to advertise on campus.

All businesses which operate for profit are prohibited from advertising on campus, according to University regulations. HSA is a non-profit organization.

"We have a vehicle that works well and we don't want people making profits," Dan of Students Archie C. Epps said last week. He added that he was unaware of complaints from the Entrepreneurs Club.

'Entrepreneurs was set up as a discussion group with the un- derstanding that "they would not operate business on campus." Epps said.

He added the he refers students who wish to start there own businesses to HSA, "HSA is a student organization established as a vehicle for students who wish to manage business on campus," Epps said.

Prior to HSA's establishment, students, conducting business using the University's name often failed, he added.

HSA's General Manager Hope B. Spruance said that many students who come to HSA with new business ideas "very often who come to HAS with new business ideas "very often see that they're not feasible" She added that no new enterprises have been started through HSA in the last two years.

Harvard Entrepreneur Evan C. Marwell '87 who co-runs a laser printing business with Macintosh computers, said HSA "satisfies the entrepreneur."

"HAS gets the profits and you become a manager and don't really benefit," he said.

Although Marwell said that he and his roommate have made a "great profit" from their business, which prints thesis papers, resumes, music scores and similar items, he added that "now HSA is entertaining the same-idea as us."

If HSA does start a similar operation-and are permitted to advertise on campus-they will have a strong edge over Marwell's business, he said.

"I MSA can get these printers--and anyone can get them--they can tell people about it," Marwell said.

"I don't want big present for beer or supermarkets," said Marwell "but I think it would be easy to set up a system which would control which organizations can advertise on campus. The first premise could be that it must be a Harvard student."

Epps said that if he receives a request for a change in advertising regulations, he would take it to the the Committee on College Life for discussion

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