The University ordered Tech House to stop its annual Ethernet cable sale this semester, cutting short the program house's fundraiser with orders still left to be filled.
Now, Tech House may have to bring its tradition into agreement with student entrepreneurship regulations - or discontinue it completely.
Citing restrictions on student-run businesses - which can jeopardize the University's tax-exempt status - and attempts by parents and students to return cables made by Tech House members to the Brown Bookstore, Richard Bova, director of residential life, instructed Tech House's president in a Sept. 2 e-mail to halt the sale.
Members of the program house had been running a table at the corner of Brown and George streets, where they were filling orders and selling ready-made cables.
Bova said he did not want to put a permanent end to the cable sales but that he would be willing to meet with members of Tech House because "clearly we have to structure (the sale) differently."
The University's policy concerning student enterprise states, "Campus-based activity which can result in the distribution of profits to individuals is inconsistent with the University's tax-exempt status."
"It's more like a realignment," Bova said. Tech House should "partner with an affiliated, approved function on campus to continue their business," he said.
Bova said groups - such as Brown Student Agencies - exist under which Tech House could continue its cable sales.
BSA could possibly work an arrangement out that would allow Tech House to continue selling the Ethernet cables, according to BSA President Reynaldo Gomez '04, MD'08. Though Gomez said he wasn't familiar with Tech House's situation, BSA could help Tech House sell the cables, with BSA collecting part of the profits.
"BSA is the only structure ... within which a student can start a business," Gomez said.
Members of Tech House began making and selling their own Ethernet cables for their first fundraiser, and the "high-tech bake sale" has continued annually since 1995, according to Sean Smith '06, Tech House president.
Tech House has been selling the Ethernet cables for about 10 years, but Bova would not comment on why the sale is being halted now, citing his relatively recent arrival on campus. Bova became head of ResLife in 2003.
When the University barred them from continuing this year, "we had around 20 orders that were left to be filled, and we probably would have taken a few more," Smith said.
Besides member dues, the 100 to 200 cables Tech House sells each year represent the primary source of funds for the house budget, Smith said.
Tech House sells 5-, 15- and 25-foot-long cables, as well as custom-length cables. The cables sell for $5 for the first 5 feet and $1 for each additional 5 feet.
Smith said that he plans to meet with University officials and "work something out."
Smith said the Brown Bookstore has had complaints about Tech House cables before, but until this year, all problems had been dealt with informally.
"We do our best to make it clear that we're not affiliated with the bookstore," he said.
Smith said Tech House would be left with a gap in its budget and a lot of useless equipment if it is unable to continue the cable sales.
"This has been a longstanding tradition," Smith said, and "we pass on the knowledge of how to do this well" to each generation of the house.
"We help out students, we give them whatever they want," he said. "We charge them a very affordable price, which has always been less than what the bookstore charges."
Herald senior staff writer Justin Elliott '07 can be reached at herald@browndailyherald.com.
