HSA Plans More Travel Guides; Profits, Capital Drive Net $40,000

The Harvard Student Agencies will probably publish several more student guides modelled on Let's Go, its student guide to Europe.

Andrew T. Tobias '68, manager of the HSA publishing division, said last night that his agency hopes to publish a guide to student employment by September, as well as travel guides to the Orient, the Middle East, and various parts of the United States, within the next few years.

HSA announced its intentions at its annual report meeting last night. The meeting focused on Let's Go and the Information Gathering Service, the two agencies that contributed the most last year towards eradicating the HSA's accumulated $20,000 deficit.

In fact, these two agencies, along with the capital fund-raising drive have helped the HSA raise $40,000 of working capital, largely since last spring.

This year's Let's Go, will be about 80 pages longer than the 1965 edition will include several new features, Tobias said. The iron curtain countries will be included for the first time, as well as an eight page survey of English pubs.

The Information Gathering Service also showed a profit for the first time last year. In the fall of 1965, the agency, which conducts interviews, does translating, and performs other research services for New England firms, showed an $11,000 deficit. Last year, however, under the direction of manager John P. Merrill '66 the IGS more than doubled its sales, and provided over $25,000 in student wages.

IGS Overloaded

This year's IGS earnings are already running well ahead of the budget, Merrill said, and contracts have increased so quickly that the agency is having a hard time filling all the orders. A number of local and national firms have asked IGS to do research and interview projects. Translating sales have reached $4000 this year and could potentially become a source of $20,000 to $30,000 in wages, Merrill said.

Frederic J. Gruber '67, president of HSA told the managers that the $40,000 capital fund would allow the HSA to experiment with a number of new business possibilities which it has never before had the financial cushion to risk. "We could never feel secure investing in new possibilities," Gruber said, "when there were real sinkers in other areas."

Gruber suggested that HSA managers share their entrepreneurial talents with other organizations and other schools. He also proposed a seminar for this spring to exchange ideas with college student agencies around the country, and suggested that in the future HSA managers might contribute their sales training to such University projects as the combined charities drive.