Editorial

SOUTHERN LITERARY FESTIVAL DRAWS RENOWNED WRITERS: AN INSULT TO MANY AREA BUSINESSES

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While we're glad to see the arrival of the literary festival this weekend, the same can't be said for a traveling "warehouse" sale at the Show Me Center today.

These traveling vendors compete against local businesses, drawing dollars out of the community. This does not seem the best use of state- and city-owned facilities.

Local merchants complained about the last sale of this nature -- in September of 1993 -- but apparently no one from the university took heed. It certainly seems a poor community relations tool.

It seems unfair for the university to engage in marketplace competition when it starts from a state-supported, tax-exempt advantage. We can understand how some businessmen sour when asked for donations to support solid educational programs when the university promotes such unfair competition.

This is not an isolated incident. A campus eatery promotes itself like any local restaurant. The recreation complex sells memberships like other local gyms. And plans are being finalized to add name-brand food services on campus.

Local business people are important to the university -- solidly support programs and fund-raising efforts. It's time Southeast officials stop competing with some of their best boosters.