WE GET IT! YOU KNOW WHO RULES ALL IN THE MERCHANDISING DEPARTMENT! YOU MAY BE A BOOKSTORE REP!

Clearly you typing this 100 times is not changing the thinking of people. Give it up.

Well if people would read through a thread before commenting, the same crap wouldnt be said over and over again.

That clearly doesnt apply as YOU are reading the thread and are posting the same stuff over and over......

Then understand what is being said, I wont have to post it over and over.

Keep posting. It's working.

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Sell membership in the Reed Rowdies.

Every member gets a free shirt!

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I like this idea. The problem is that it is a whole lot harder to market. It's easy to sell a shirt when it's on the court. Harder to market a 'membership' without a tangible product behind you.

You might try contacting Eric Birch too. He's the director of basketball operations. Don't know if that will help, but it's another name.

if the bookstore/barnes and noble has had this policy and finally has decided to enforce it then they can obviously decide to not enforce it like it hasn't been enforced in the past. if the university is getting a defined dollar amount then they shouldn't care how much money the book store makes. the book store obviously sees it's sales slipping and finally has decided to enforce their power over the campus as the official retailer. so tell me again how the bookstore has no control of this?

What we need to do is blame the bookstore. It is clear that they are the sole party to blame here, and any and all decision-making ends with them.

The Bookstore is the one "enforcing" their right in the contract. The University can't make the bookstore "waive" that right. You need to attack Barnes and Noble and not the University if you want them to waive their contractual rights. I'm not sure why bigfoot thinks that collective action among students won't pressure Barnes and Noble into caving on this issue.

Prior to the op-ed, the reed rowdies should draft a letter asking the bookstore to allow reed rowdies to sell reed rowdie shirts (limited to one design per year) in Reed Arena in order to raise money to support their student organization. Or if they won't grant your waiver, ask them for a donation to cover your budget requirements.

[This message has been edited by one and done (edited 11/20/2009 11:27a).]

[This message has been edited by one and done (edited 11/20/2009 11:28a).]

Bob:

Can you get around the exclusive merchandise rule if the t-shirt mentions nothing about any trademarked terms?

I guess I am trying to understand how the rule works. Does the folks selling those roasted nuts under the same rule? Or is it just 'merchandise' dealing with A&M?

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Can you get around the exclusive merchandise rule if the t-shirt mentions nothing about any trademarked terms?

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this. This might work.

outside at the tent, inside if they will let you

Picket the bookstore...

The $5 membership seems like a decent option.

Do the $5 membership for the time being but try to get this taken care of by going to the very top.

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What about Class Council selling Maroon Out shirts? They sell thousands more of these on campus than Reed Rowdies sell for basketball. Why are they allowed to? If it gets to a point where you can even present an argument, I'd bring this up.

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How about damn near every single studnet organization that sells tshirts to the public?

Traditions council for one has sold tshirts since the contract was signed, and to my knowledge this was never a problem.

This is a freaking mess, damn commercialization. How does this fine thing work? Is it $100 per game (that is my assumption). Heck, I'll cover a game should I make the check out to B&N CRY BABIES WHO BEETCH AND MOAN BECAUSE STUDENTS TRY TO ACTUALLY GET INVOLVED AND SHOW SUPPORT INSTEAD OF PANDERING TO THE BORING UNISPIRED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS OF THE "MAN" .... I may have to abbreviate that some how ... don't think that will fit on the Pay to the order of line.

never was a fan of the bookstore

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Im certainly no lawyer, but if the contracts been in place in the past and the Rowdies sold shirts still, havent they (the bookstore) given up their rights by ratification? They havent defended their contract for years...

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You mean like how your trade mark can be forfeited if you don't actively protect it? Maybe...



Here's what you need to do: get a copy of the contract and read it. I have no idea what this contract says, but, like some have suggested, maybe it only applies to shirts with trademarked images. Perhaps if you refrain from writing "Aggies" or using recognizable university graphics, you could get away with it. I imagine your shirts are already printed up though, so this might not help you much. But a shirt with the words "Reed Rowdies," a generic design of a basketball, or a clever saying might not be under the umbrella of the contract.

So... see if you can read a copy of the contract. Ask whoever it was who told you that you couldn't sell shirts. I should think if they're forcing you out of business, you should at least get the chance to see if their claims are legitimate.


Also, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the university doesn't actually own Reed Arena. Or was that misinformation?

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Also, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the university doesn't actually own Reed Arena. Or was that misinformation?

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I think at one point the Athletic Department didn't own Reed. Things might have changed.

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I also find it ironic that's it's the MSC bookstore squashing out a student organization.

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Not that such a thing would be possible, but without satisfaction one should start a campaign to keep the bookstare from moving back into the Memorial STUDENT Center.

New Army lives at Reed Arena

[This message has been edited by JJxvi (edited 11/20/2009 1:01p).]

I believe the university/athletic department gets 50% of the bookstore's merchandise sales at or inside an athletic venue (Reed, Kyle Field, Olsen, etc..,)

Total BS. It's going to come down to this being an issue that no one claims responsibility for because it isn't convenient. Truth of the matter is that the bookstore could allow the RR to sell the shirts. They're just choosing not to. B&N's corporate office in NJ has no idea who the hell the Rowdies are or that they're selling shirts. This is a much more local decision. I personally will not be buying any more merchandise from the BS until this problem is resolved. Not that they'll miss my $.02.

how does aggie locker store in the zone fit into this? they sell the same stuff as the book store

Whose skulls can I pound in at Reed tonight?

So this may not be a legitimate concern, but you might not want the membership to be contingent on paying 5 bucks. Maybe a premium member or something?

It's just that you guys in the past have emphasized that everyone who goes to the games are reed rowdies. That might not go over as well if you start charging 5 bucks. It may not matter.

exactly, that's why they are hesitant to do the "5 dollar membership, free t-shirt" gig.

They shouldn't be hesitant, it's a way to build an identity. Asking for membership creates ownership of the participants and can only be a better thing for the Reed Rowdies.

Membership with T-Shirt Included. That's my vote.

Or: Sell out of van in the parking lot. You can outrun the golf cart.

You could just have people "Donate" $5 to the Rowdies and receive the free shirt, as has been stated before. Don't call it a membership or anything like that as "every student at Reed is a Rowdy."

$10 for 2 t-shirts and Double Secret Membership!

sucky situation, and I also agree the "donate $5 minimum to RR and get a free T-shirt" would be the best route.

If I were a Reed Rowdy, I'd make signs to protest in front of the book store on Saturday.

Aggies need to know what's going on, and if word gets out that a student organization is being held back by an outside corporation the book store's sales will tank.

Obviously, I don't want any money to be taken away from A&M, but for the book store to not allow official student organizations to sell t-shirts is a big no-no.

Exercise your freedom of speech, and hit 'em in the pocketbook 'til they make this right.

Also - for those saying that it's not the book store, it's the University. Ultimately, it's B&N's wish that they be the sole vendor. I seriously doubt the person that set up this contract with B&N expected the reach to extend this far. This goes 100% against what higher learning is all about.

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Explain to me why the university would want to tell everyone to stop buying from a store THAT THEY GET A CUT OFF OF??? Doesn't make much sense.

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They wouldn't, but they need to clearly explain why this isn't allowed. Basically, they need to admit that they are the ones preventing this from happening or let us know who the real culprit is.

If the University is stopping this, shame on them. If it is B&N, they need to let us know that they cannot allow this due to their contract with B&N.

When did I say that the University should tell us to stop buying from their bookstore?

I did say that I would stop buying anything from the bookstore until the University at least tries to fix this.

[This message has been edited by LostInLA07 (edited 11/20/2009 2:18p).]

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I think at one point the Athletic Department didn't own Reed. Things might have changed.

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This is correct. The Athletic Dept does not own Reed.

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Something else I would emphasize is everything that the Rowdies do. I did not know about the free bbq, I knew they bought tix to away games but didn't know all the details. I think more people would be willing to donate to the cause if they knew all this.