U. may force Campus Text off campus after January

The discount textbook seller must get permission from the University to sell books on campus after next semester. Campus Text Inc. may have to change its name to Off-Campus Text, after a recent settlement in its 1996 lawsuit against the University gave Penn the power to decide whether the company will continue to operate from its familiar location next to The Book Store. The discount textbook seller, which poured more than $25,000 into its nine-month legal battle with the University, faces an uncertain future now that it has settled its civil suit accusing Penn and The Book Store operators of interfering with its business and pressuring it to move from its 38th Street and Locust Walk location. Under the settlement, Campus Text must get the University's permission to sell books on Penn property, which includes the area where the company operates on 38th Street beneath the foot bridge. And University officials haven't decided yet whether to allow Campus Text to stay on campus past the January 1998 book-buying season, according to Associate General Counsel Robert Terrell. But although Campus Text hasn't yet identified a possible off-campus site for its business, co-owner Michael Saewitz said that he and his partner, 1995 College and Wharton graduate Doug Levy, aren't planning to stop selling textbooks at Penn. "We will find an alternative location," Saewitz said. "We are not about to fold our tents and throw in the towel. If we don't [stay in business], what will happen is the students are going to be left with little choice -- if any. "We hope that the students will continue to patronize our business. No business likes to relocate," he added, noting that Campus Text would have continued the lawsuit if it had the financial resources. The company -- which sells textbooks at up to 10 percent discounts from trucks outside The Book Store -- has been a thorn in the University's side since Levy founded the company as Penn Text in January 1994. The company agreed to change its name after the University threatened legal action, insisting that "Penn" was a trademark. The squabbles boiled over into a full-blown lawsuit in September 1996, when Campus Text sued the University, Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, Inc. and the city in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. In the suit, Campus Text accused the University and University Police officers of harassing employees who were distributing promotional literature on Locust Walk In June, attorneys for both sides agreed to the settlement -- which barred Campus Text, the University and Barnes & Noble from further legal action over the dispute. Additionally, according to the settlement, if Campus Text wants to distribute fliers on the campus thoroughfare, it may do so only between 36th and 37th streets. Saewitz and Terrell wouldn't disclose other terms of the settlement, which Saewitz described only as a "multipage agreement." Campus Text's future may also depend on the outcome of a proposed City Council ordinance that would limit and reorganize vending around campus. It was unclear yesterday, however, exactly how the ordinance would affect Campus Text and whether University officials would permit the business to operate on campus. "That's a matter that really has to be worked out after the [January] selling period," Terrell said. He added that Campus Text's fate depends on "what the campus-wide vending policy is at the time," but stressed that he wasn't familiar with the terms of the ordinance Book Store Director Michael Knezic referred questions to Vice President for Business Services Steve Murray, who didn't return telephone calls yesterday. And Jack Shannon, the University's top economic development official who is in charge of publicizing Penn's stance on the vending ordinance, referred questions about Campus Text to the Office of the General Counsel. Saewitz declined to disclose Campus Text's revenues or profits. The company is based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., but has only sold books at Penn, he said. Several students said yesterday that they would walk the extra blocks in order to save money on textbooks. Wharton sophomore Jason Liu said he would walk "maybe four or five more blocks" to Campus Text's yet-to-be determined future location. Right now, its trucks operate just outside The Book Store, which is on Locust Walk between 37th and 38th streets.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.