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scottcomstock
09-23-2002, 12:19 PM
Scott F. Comstock
**DELETED**
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
719-328-XXXX (home) 719-265-XXXX (work)


31 August 2002


Denny Brown
President, Clarkson University
CU POB 5500
Potsdam, NY 13699-5500



Dear President Brown:

As you are probably aware, one of Potsdam's best sources of inexpensive student supplies -- Ames -- is in the process of shutting its doors. The recent closure of Knight and Day is only adding to the inconvenience students are going to face in the upcoming semester with regard to easy access to basic school supplies. While I realize that one event had nothing to do with the other, the timing of these events is terrible for Clarkson students.

I also realize that students can get basic supplies like pens & notebooks at the University Bookstore, Kinney Drugs, or the P&C or Big M groceries. The problem is that only the University Bookstore and the Big M are within reasonable walking distance of the hill campus, and Big M's primary business goal is not to sell school supplies. In addition, specialized supplies like engineering pads are only available at the Bookstore.

Although Clarkson does not, to my knowledge, have a regulation against freshmen driving or parking cars on campus, there are many parents who will not allow their freshman son or daughter to drive. For these students, as well as upperclassmen without cars, the closure of Knight & Day is, at the least, extremely inconvenient, and this goes double during Potsdam's famously harsh winters. Ames' impending closure only adds to the inconvenience, as students are soon going to be forced to either travel out of Potsdam or use the Internet to purchase inexpensive dorm supplies such as lamps or additional furniture.

It is my understanding that there may be plans to establish a bookstore on the hill campus. If this is the case, for the sake of student convenience, I implore the University administration to consider fast-tracking those plans, and to amend any such plans to include the sale of basic school & dormitory supplies. Additionally, the establishment of such a store on the hill campus can present a very unique educational opportunity for Clarkson's business majors -- particularly for those involved in the Venture@Moore House program -- in that they can learn the operation of a real, live, operational business, working in conjunction with the established operator of the bookstore.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.



Sincerely,

/s/
Scott F. Comstock '00

demock
09-23-2002, 04:42 PM
Excellent. please let us know if you get a response.

I may write a similar letter..

scottcomstock
09-23-2002, 10:07 PM
Originally posted by demock
Excellent. please let us know if you get a response.

I may write a similar letter..

I received a response on 10 September. The salient points of the response were as follows:


He and President Fallon of SUNY Potsdam have jointly written to the Potsdam village administration expressing concern over the loss of Ames & are encouraging an aggressive effort to locate a new retailer;
There are currently no plans to move the University Bookstore, but Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam will both need to add retail to their campuses if the village of Potsdam can't locate a new retailer;
He liked my idea of getting the business students involved, and forwarded my letter to the appropriate persons.


As for writing letters: by all means, do so, and send off a few to the corporate offices of both Wal-Mart and Target in the process. From what I've been hearing coming out of Potsdam, a lot of the anti-Wal-Mart folks have switched sides with Ames' closure.

Although I don't think either B&N or Clarkson saw this coming, the closure of K&D couldn't have come at a worse time. At the least, I hope that whoever made the decision to close K&D reconsiders it, and fast.