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Show THE THUNDERBIRD MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 1986 7 PACE Bookstore operates at loss on new books BY LYNN New Center has many amenities BY KRIS other side of the living room, making the student officers more accessible to the student JOHNSON SUSC's new Student Center will feature a greatly enlarged Bookstore, a "living room," and open, sunny spaces for plantlife. The new building's architects, Fowler, Ferguson, Kingston, and Ruben, last week unveiled plans for the 35,000 square-fofacility and Vice President for Student Services Sterling R. Church says the building will be more accessible and practical than the current Student Center. "The current Student Center is cramped. You don't go there unless if you have too," said Church. "It's somewhat off the beaten path and its rooms are in a maze, making it more difficult to be well utilized." "The new Student Center is located in the central portion of the campus, making it more accessible and practical for student and faculty utilization," he said. "We sav the Student Center is the heart of the campus in which students and faculty can come together, and the living room concept typifies the concept for unifying campus life," he said. "The living room will be a place where you can come out of the winter cold and enjoy the warmth of friends as well as the feeling of life that will be giving through tropical life, trees and other warm decor," Church said. "A clerestory windows above the ceiling line will also provide the room with an abundance of light," he added. "The living room will be open and spacious. Because there is only one entrance at the front, it will be secluded from the usual traffic of students coming and going through different entrances," he said. The reading lounge, a room designed for those students who want to read books and newspapers, rather than as a study hall, will also be used for formal receptions and is located outside the living room, according to Church. The reading lounge will open up to an outdoor terrace. The terrace was designed to complement the reading room and will be set back where students can enjoy social activities, said Church. The tv lounge will be found down the hall from the living room for students to watch their favorite tv shows, including cable on a large screen. The tv lounge will be open from early in the morning until late at night. The game room will be found on the east side of the building and will include billiard tables, ping pong, electronic amusements and tables for card playing, said Church. The student government offices will be on the ot body, he said. According to Wm. Brad Bennett, director of student activities, a question of a smoking area in the dining room is being reviewed. Currently there is no smoking lounge designed for the facility. Over the years, there have been several requests for an indoor smoking area, he said. "It's a matter of adhering to the Utah Clean Air Act and considering the ventilation of the facility," said Bennett. "If we can adhere to the Utah Clean Air Act, then the new Student Center will have a smoking section. However, we haven't arrived at a final decision." The cafeteria and student lounge will be combined into one facility. The new food services area will have dining space for more than 300 students. The area has been arranged so students and faculty don't have to stand in line, they can go to the counter that is dispensing their food item, such as the the salad bar, the dessert bar, or the drink stand, said Bennett. Besides the standard menu and the special of the day, there will also be an ethnic bar where food of other countries will be offered. The new Bookstore is two and a half times the size of the current Bookstore and was designed to provide customer convenience so people won't have to spend time looking for what they need, said Church. "Students will also be able to find educational supplies that they couldn't find before because of the lack of space in the current Student Center," he said. The new mail room will be located west of the Bookstore and will still provide the same services, said Church. The entire building has been designed to accommodate the wheelchair bound by including ramps, elavators and restroom facilities, said Church. There will also be three conference rooms in the facility for student and faculty use and small group dining, said Church. According to Church, the administration is working with a major bank to implement banking services into the facility. The building will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight, he said. "We'll have the same hours as now, except for the Bookstore and food services which will stay open later in the new Student Center," he said. "The new Student Center will be the heart of the campus geographically and, hopefully, philosophically too," said Church. "It will be Total atmosphere." nt.i HOLT As fall quarter gets under way, it's back to business as usual for the SUSC Bookstore. Many students purchasing books for the first time are surprised by the high cost of books, and many, returning students are as unhappy as ever with skyrocketing book prices. "I know that there is some student resentment," admits Bookstore Manager Dennis Ohms, "but we feel that we are providing a service." A look at the Bookstore's sales figures supports Ohms' statement. On the sales of new books last year, the Bookstore lost $20,000. The operation made up for this loss in the sale of used books, which brought in $23,000. Ohms explained that the profit margins are higher for items such as pencils, candy, and clothing, but maintains that the Bookstore operation benefits the students more than most people realize. A large amount of profits from the Bookstore goes back into the institution said Ohms, claiming that Bookstore revenues accounted for $15,000 to $20,000 in scholarships last year. "Prices for new books at the store are basically set by the publishers themselves," said Ohms. "If anyone in our industry is making a significant profit it has to be the publishing company." Ohms explained that a new book costing a student $50 might actually cost the store $51.50. Of that amount the publisher would gain an $1 1 .00 profit. He also presented figures showing that many publishing companies operate with profit margins of up to 22 percent on new books. Ohms says that Bookstore management makes purchasing decisions with the student in mind. "We had a physics book come in this quarter and when we saw the price we called the publisher to try to get a better price. The cost was over $50," he said. Ohms and his staff are also looking for special publishers' programs to benefit SUSC students. Despite this. Ohms said that he realizes that the Bookstore still has a poor reputation around campus. "We'd like to change the student's attitudes, but we know we can't because as long as students are paying high prices for books, they're not going to be happy with the Bookstore." According to Ohms, another area which causes student resentment is the g store's procedure. Store policy states that if a book is needed for the following quarter, the store will buy the book for 50 to 60 percent of the price originally paid by the student. In the event that a book is not needed the following quarter, the Bookstore will pay a price quoted by a used book Chicago-base- d is It in this type of company. transaction that the student loses the most money said Ohms. book-tradin- Again, Ohms insists that the prices and policies are set by other companies and the Bookstore has no control over these decisions. To get the most money for trade-i- n books, the Bookstore recommends that students keep their books until the end of the quarter so that if the campus needs the books for the upcoming quarter than the Bookstore can buy the book back for the best price. i fit ft iXvJ. $ 11 SUSC's Bookstore offers -- a- mukitude-of- - sundries.. |