"The whole purpose of going to the Coop is to get things cheaper than anywhere else, or at least to get a rebate," Silver said. "How many students go there to buy beds, or color televisions?"

Others, like new Coop General Manager Howard W. Davis, want the store to carry any kind of merchandise students are interested in buying, even if it means competing with department stores and specialty shops in Greater Boston.

Doesn't Mind Competition

"It the other stores can get their business, fine, but we're going to go after it too," Davis said. "I don't mind competing."

In the recent elections for the Coop's Board of Directors, four candidates for the eleven student seats won over Coop nominated candidates. These four will probably seriously question the Coop's expansion, as well as its financial efficiency.

But as to the issue of the Coop's rock-bottom rebate for 1969-70, the main reason appears to be disastrous earnings figures. Brown feels the situation will improve this year.

"If I felt it would go on this way, I'd say the Coop should either get a new president, or close down," he concluded.