Page 2 • The Battalion
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Thursday • Decembers.
A&M students creating economic boom for area merchan
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Thursday • I
Disposable income rising for collegians,
store owners seeing increase in sales
By Amy Lee
The Battalion
Bryan-College Station merchants are
depending on Texas A&M students for
their happy holidays.
Local businessmen said the school’s
students have a major impact on local
businesses in the area and help increase
sales during the holiday season.
Dr. Thomas Saving, director of the
private enterprise center at Texas
A&M, said in 1990, the average student
spent around $3,100 per year on non
housing expenditures.
Saving estimated that, with infla
tion, students spend an average of
$3,400 in the community.
Gary Spearow, general manager
of the MSC Bookstore, said that the
store has an increase in business be
fore the holidays.
“We see an impact right before (book)
buy back,” he said. “I think that some
times the students will have cash in
hand, and instead of buying more books
they’ll buy other items.”
Cavender’s Boot City has a holiday
rush of students, but manager Scott
Hamill said the store does not usually
notice a second rush on the store right
before the holidays.
“We notice about 150 to 200 percent
increase around the holidays,” Hamill,
said. “The first half of the month is stu
dents and the second half of the month
are late Christmas shoppers. We actu
ally don’t notice a drop off when stu
dents go home at Christmas time but
we don’t get the big second rush. Busi
ness just stays steady.”
Carolyn Patterson, manager of
Things Remembered at Post Oak Mall,
said that the store sees an increase in
business around the holidays, but also
for other special occasions.
“We are an engraving store so we get
a lot of students in buying gifts all
through the year,' she said. “We get
fraternities and sororities in around big
sis, lil’ brother time. We do a lot of
things for bonfire buddies, and now it’s
close to graduation. Our major business
is students.”
Patterson said that his store has
steady business throughout the holidays.
“There still are so many students
that stay here during the holidays that
we don’t notice a tremendous drop off,”
she said. “The ones that are still here
still buy.”
Target’s manager, James Haverland,
said that he notices an impact toward
the end of the semester.
“I see a huge increase when finals
are done,” he said. “That’s when they
have time to think about it and taking
care of their holiday shopping. I think
students like to go home ready, so they
shop here instead of at home.”
Spearow said the MSC Bookstore
usually has special sales to draw stu
dents in to buy before they go home for
the holidays.
“We do a focus sale on seasonal items
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Lynda Ruffino, a graduate student in marketing, does some Christmas shopping at the Post Oak Mall.
and we put special items on sale from
each department,” Spearow, said. “It’s
a case where people might be with their
discretionary income and they might
buy their gifts before they go home.”
Saving said he does not think that
students buy or spend more during the
holidays.
“I think that students don’t spend
more money here around Christmas
time,” Saving said. “I think they may
spend that money at home. You look at
the money students are spending and
there is no question that they notice a
drop off in student spending.
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Continued from Page 1
University would pay for it.
Hitt said he did not think it was
against the law to buy alcohol with lo
cal funds as long as it was used for le
gitimate purposes.
“I didn’t feel it was illegal or im
moral,” Hitt said. “I was told it was
common practice through the Universi
ty and I would not be able to change it.”
Hitt’s wife, Frankie Hitt, who had
originally created an account at J.J.’s
Package Stores for the department,
said she had many parties at her home
for the management department where
alcohol was served.
Mrs. Hitt said she had purchased
alcohol from J.J.’s Package Stores sev
eral times for the department because
J.J. Ruffino. owner of the liquor store,
told her many A&M departments
had accounts.
“J.J. asked me if I would like to set up
an account for the department, so I did,”
Hitt said. “I told him I couldn’t purchase
alcohol for A&M but he told me it was no
problem because he would handle it.”
Dr. A. Benton Cocanougher, dean of
the College of Business Administration
and former interim senior vice presi
dent and provost, testified Wednesday
that he did not understand why HelT
riegel was charged.
“It’s beyond my ability to under
stand,” he said.
Bowen said the indictments and
charges against the A&M employees
were a concern to him because they
were having an impact on valuable
members of his staff.
“We felt it was appropriate for us to
make a statement,” Bowen said. “This
institutional policy was the problem, it
was not the administration.”
Bowen, several department heads
and administrators wrote a letter in
support of the employees who were in
dicted or charged. The letter also stat
ed that the misrepresentation of alcohol
purchases were common practice at the
University for many years.
Bowen said he would not be sur
prised if about 80 of A&M’s depart
ments were at one time involved with
Ruffino Catering.
He said he did not think it was pos
sible for all of these departments to
know how to handle the Ruffino Cater
ing account without authorization.
“The leadership of this University
was responsible for this practice,”
Bowen said, “but we do not know when
this started.”
Bowen said he had not tried to find
the person ultimately responsible for
the practice because he did not think it
was an important enough issue to deal
with at the time.
Hellriegel has worked for Texas
A&M since 1975. He has served as in
terim dean of the College of Business
and served as chair of the search com
mittee that selected Bowen as A&M
president.
Two Texas A&M administrators,
A&M Athletic Director Wally Groff and
Associate Athletic Director Penny King,
each were placed on three months pro
bation and ordered to pay a $250 fine
after pleading no contest in October to
the same charge.
Both were given deferred adjudica
tion, a form of probation that means
no conviction will appear on their
record if the three-month term is suc
cessfully completed.
All of the charges and indictments
were the result of an ongoing investi
gation by the Texas Rangers and the
FBI into questionable business prac
tices at A&M.
Employees
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Continued from Page 1
Gaston to determine their futures
at the University,” Rife said. “De
pending upon what is discussed dur
ing the meeting, we may be filing a
lawsuit against the University.’
Margaret Freeman, a formerJ
Mom president who met with J
administrators to oppose thereasi
ments, said she has always been:]
cerned about why the men werelef
given an explanation.
“All we asked for was a reason,!]
man said. “I never thought they «:||y Rob Clai
be reinstated because if they wert
would have already happened.”
Housing
Continued from Page 1
ne
HE BaTTALIOI
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reservations or did not show up to
move in, Ron Sasse, director of student
affairs, said.
The housing office conducted an in
vestigation to find what caused the ex
tensive vacancies, but was unable to
determine any unusual reasons.
Off-campus housing also has vacan
cies, and Smith said off campus resi
dences, like apartments and duplexes,
may be affected by allowing part-time
students to live on campus.
Smith said the group whowil
most affected by the housing sun
will be students who are wantii:
sublease their homes.
She said the OSLP has aboilipally
cards on file for subleases.
“Students who want to suhp
their apartments may have a b
time finding someone to leasetki
place,” she said.
Smith said the OSLP is dire
students who come to their
sublease, but it is difficult to prelj
where students will want to live. (
“So much of this is based on tic |
dividual students preferences
she said.
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Christmas Sale
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This Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4p.m.
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Come See For Yourself at:
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January 27-28,1995 8:00 p.m. Rudder Auditorium
"Carmina Burana"
January 27. ItiDo
" The Four Seasons"
T * January 2fi. 1905
he Ballet Theatre de Bordeaux continues to fulfill
its reputation as a world-class dance company with
its unique background and artistic ideology. Now, YOU
can see the company's stunning interpretations of
Carmina Burana on Friday or The Four Seasons on
Saturday with these special TEXAS EXCLUSIVE
performances.
0pas22
Tickets are on sale at the
MSC Box Office-TAMU, or charge
by phone at 845-1234
3 enable us to assist you to the best of o
Join us for a special French buffet before Saturday's
performance of “The Four Seasons.” Call 845-1118 for reservations.
Also on Saturday, be sure to attend the Patricia S. Peters Lagniappe Lecture
at 7 p.m. in Room 206 of the Memorial Student Center - Admission is free.
Iii i Battalion
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