CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, February 8, 1996
3A
Groups cash in on cards
Campus organizations paid to promote plastic
Kansan staff writer
By Heather Kirkwood Kenyon staff writer
Campus organizations are discovering there is money to be made promoting credit cards.
Marketers are paying organizations to help hawk T-shirts, sunglasses and cups to KU students who will fill out credit card applications.
Gina Thornhurst / KANSAM
Julia Lu, Wichita sophomore and member of the Asian-American Student Union, said her group had participated in several credit card fund-raisers during the last few years and usually made $300 to
$600 in a week.
"For us it has been a really great opportunity, because it gets the members to work together as a team," Lu said.
Teresa Hopkins, Overland Park sophomore and member of AIESEC, said her organization made between $400 and $500 sponsoring credit card marketers last fall.
"The best time to do it is at the beginning of the year when the
Oscar Ramus, Panama City, Panama, senior, uses his credit card at the Kansas Union Bookstore. Many students pay for items the University requires for classes with credit cards.
One is enough. One major credit card, paid on time for several months, is all you need to establish a squeaky clean credit rating.
Tips about credit cards
Brand loyalty is not to be desired. Keep looking for the best deal and don't be afraid to change your credit card.
Know what you want from your credit card. If you plan to pay your balance during several months, look for the card with the lowest interest rate. If you plan to always pay the bill as soon as it arrives, look for a card with a 25-day interest free grace period.
Source: Bankcard Holders of America
year when the freshman don't have their cards yet," Hopkins said.
But the amount of money organizations make from the fund-raiser varies. Lu said her organization's success depended on the company's sales representative.
"Some of them are better at selling, and some of them aren't as good," she said. "It really depends on those representatives. To us, the club is just there to provide them with the help they need."
The amount of money clubs make by sponsoring credit card marketers also depends on the contracts they negotiate with the companies.
Most companies offer the sponsoring organization a fee, usually about 50 cents, for each credit card application filled out. Some companies offer a guaranteed minimum fee if the group fulfills the contract. Others offer bonuses if a certain number of applications are completed.
The University has relatively few rules about sponsoring credit card marketers on campus. Students interested in this fund-raiser must obtain permission from the University Events Committee at the Organizations and Activities Center and must follow the following guidelines:
The fund-raiser can only take place for ten days at a time.
- Organizations can have tables at more than one site, but only one at each site.
Credit card marketers must remain behind the table and always be accompanied by a member of the sponsoring student organization.
All students must be eligible to apply for the credit card being marketed.
Food can not be given away as a gimmick unless it is obtained through the Kansas Union.
Other than these guidelines, the University has no policy about what the companies must tell students about the credit cards or what they may offer students to apply.
Ann Eversole, chairwoman of the University Events Committee, said she thought marketing credit cards was an easy and popular way for student organizations to raise money. However, she said she did have some misgivings.
"I always have concern about students obtaining these cards without any understanding or care," she said.
Students targeted for credit
By Heather Kirkwood
Kansan staff writer
Debbie Henry is the kind of college student credit card companies are after.
Like 61 percent of undergraduates nationwide, the Topeka senior has one or more credit cards and uses them to buy things such as gas, tuition and clothes.
In addition, Henry, like one-third of college students who have credit cards, got her first credit card when she was 18. She also has kept the card for the last five years.
College students are a lucrative market for credit card companies.
Students have no established brand loyalty, and every year a new crop of freshmen provide new opportunities, said Cathy Cummings, public relations director for American Express. In addition, a majority of college students keep the same credit cards for many years.
Unlike any other group in the United States, college students easily can obtain credit, regardless of their jobs, assets or established credit histories.
Perhaps that is why college students hold a privileged position in the eyes of companies such as American Express, Discover, Citibank, and Chase Manhattan.
As for paying the bills, college students are not any better or worse than the general public. Cummings said.
"Tens of millions of people who work for a living have no access to credit in this country, while students' mailboxes are brimming with credit card offers," said Ruth Susswein, executive director of Bankcard Holders of America, a consumer advocate group.
Cummings said the difference between college students and these customers was the deals American Express offered them. College students were not considered for the same credit limits offered to other customers.
"We also try to educate students and remind students how credit cards work and what the responsibility is." Cummings said.
While that may be the policy of American Express, it is not the policy of all card issuers.
When Leanne Brown, Olathe sophomore, signed up for a Citibank Visa about three months ago, the representative gave her a huge T-shirt that went down to her knees. However, Brown received no explanation about how the card worked or what her responsibilities would be.
Now she is paying as much as she can every month to pay off the $275 she charged during Christmas.
But if students keep their credit record clean, credit cards can be helpful.
After graduation, students may find it difficult to obtain a credit card and establish a credit rating. Those who earn good credit ratings now may benefit when future landlords, insurance companies, employers or loan officers review their credit history.
Enquirer editor to deliver lecture
By Nancy Friberg Special to the Kansan
Brian Williams, the general editor of the National Enquirer, has dug through celebrity garbage, paid thousands of dollars to sources for information and crashed wedding receptions to get information about public figures.
Williams will deliver a 60-minute, multimedia presentation at 8 tonight at the Kansas Union Ballroom. His speech will cover how the Enquirer gets information for stories and other topics such as media law and payment of news sources.
The speech is titled, "Everything I Need to Be Successful I Learned at the National Enauir."
Williams said that the same qualities people needed to put out a newspaper enabled them to be successful at anything.
"Perseverance, handling adversity and presenting yourself and your product help people be successful at whatever they do." he said.
In 1972, after he graduated from Princeton University with a political science degree, Williams taught high school for three years and worked as a sales manager for several companies. He landed a job as a rookie reporter at the Enquirer seven years ago. As general editor, he oversees celebrity coverage in the supermarket tabloid, which now boasts a readership of more than 20 million.
Williams has appeared on "Good Morning America", "Geraldo", "Entertainment Tonight", and in a public television documentary designed to teach journalism in college.
Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism, said that he thought it would be interesting to hear what Williams has to say. Frederickson, who teaches media law, said that the
"Perseverance handling adversity and presenting yourself...help people be successful."
Brian Williams General editor, National Enquirer
Enquirer was lumped with other tabuloids that offer stories such as sightings of Elvis and reports of space aliens. The Enquirer focuses on news about the personal lives of stars and public people, he said.
"I don't know that we can look down our noses because other dailies, including the New York Times, report on celebrities," he said.
The speech is a free presentation of Student Union Activities.
General Editor of the National Enquirer
When: 8:00 tonight
- When: 8:00 tonight
- Where: Kansas Union Ball-
room
Free vouchers are available at the Student Union Activities Office
Kansan staff report
Robber gets away with store's money
A KU student working at a Lawrence convenience store was the victim of a robbery Tuesday night, Lawrence police said.
The student, a clerk at Miller Mart, 3300 West Sixth St., was sweeping the floor in an aisle away from the cash register when a man wearing a ski mask walked into the store.
Reportedly, the man opened the cash register, took out an unknown amount of money and told the clerk to wait to call the police.
The clerk waited until the man left, pushed an alarm and called the police.
The suspect was described as a 5-foot-8-inch Black male.
The Miller Mart has been robbed four times before — three times in the last two months.
Icy trick wakes junkie just as police arrive
Kansan staff report
Lawrence police responded to an apparent heroin overdose when friends were first unable to revive a man by putting ice down his pants.
The 23-year-old man had been sniffing the heroin about 1:40 p.m. Sunday at his home in the 1500 block of West Third St. When his friends noticed he had become unconscious,
they tried to wake him with the ice.
The police arrived at the man's residence while he was regaining consciousness.
He refused medical treatment. No arrests were made
The Lawrence man had been arrested prior to this incident for attempted burglary in 1991, intent to sell 1,207 hits of LSD in 1993 and possession of marijuana in 1994.
Too Low to Quote (the record companies don't approve)
Quotable but Low Prices
Aimpa 12.97
Billy Goetl 10.80
Hellcat Trio 9.99
Eazy-E 11.88
Dan Williams 12.97
Presidents of the United States of America 12.97
Selt 12.97
Replikans 10.88
Southern Culture on the Skies 9.88
Victoria Williams 9.88
Squirrel Nut Zippers 9.98
Rocket from the Crush 10.88
G-Love and Special Sauce 10.88
Lee M.Dee 11.88
"Boys for Pele"
Alice in Chains, Candlebox Edwyn Collins, Everclear, Green Day, Eric Matthews, Menswear Joan Osborne, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Urge Overkill, Victor Mike Watt, Enya, P.M. Dawn Frank Black, Alimee Mann, Mary Me Jane, Geraldine Fibbers, Beaties, Pretenders, Van Morrison, C.I.V.
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