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Show StatesmanCampus News Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010 Page 3 Publishers drive textbook prices The Celebrate America Show, which includes a Big Band Show, dinner and dance, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 8 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. The theme this year takes attendees back to 1942 with famous Hollywood stars of that time. Hollywood's famous Coconut Grove - where the audience is part of a star-studded evening featuring block-buster hit movies as celebrities in the audience (Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Shirley Temple & others) take the stage to entertain and support the USA through promoting War Bonds. Packed with show-stopping musical numbers featuring the Celebrate America singers and dancers, it's a powerful production that has guests saying it's the "best show on the planet!" The show will take place in the Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom located in the Taggart Student Center. The event is open to students, alumni, faculty, staff and the public. For admission price information check the website http://www.celebrateamericashow.com. Students asked to sport Aggie blue THE USU BOOKSTORE employees' salaries are taken from 15 percent of their revenue while 75 percent goes directly to publishing companies. ALISON OSTLER photo "We don't decide what we put on our shelf, that's completely up to faculty. We just get the book here," he said. Many textbooks are custom USU editions. These books are specific to the class they are for and the program they represent and are among the bookstore's most expensive. They cannot be found anywhere but in the USU bookstore. There are benefits to using custom editions for the students, but Dave Hanson suggests that benefits go to teachers as well. "When a professor uses a book that is a custom edition, they author a few pieces in the book, created a chart that is used, or other work that is specific to them," Hanson said. "They put it on their resume and it gives them points towards their tenure. It's a big deal for them, and you, as the student, pay for that." Custom editions are helpful to students in classes that are specific to programs within USU, but it is an individual opinion as to whether the benefits outweigh the cost. Professors will sometimes switch books at the end of summer, causing an inconvenience for students as well as the bookstore. When a professor switches textbooks, students have to return their books, if possible, and buy the new edition. "We have to eat the thousands of dollars that costs us each year," Monson said. A benefit that the USU bookstore provides is buy-back. USU buys any book they can use for PoliceBlotter Friday, August 27, 2010 Monday, August 30, 2010 • USU police responded to a suspicious box near • USU Police located a male individual who is not a student sleeping in the Merrill Hall com- the vending machines in the Jones Education building. The box was an empty styrofoam container which was thrown away. about 50 percent of the purchase price. They don't require receipts of proof showing that a book was bought at USU, so students can buy it anywhere and sell it back to the university. The bookstore pays a flat rate for the books, regardless of students being the first or twentieth user of the book, a policy unique to the USU bookstore. Every semester, each professor sends a rough estimate to the bookstore of how many kids are going to be in the class and the store orders accordingly. They have no control over the influx of students, and so the bookstore created special orders. Students may order books that are out of stock at no extra cost. It costs the bookstore extra money, due to freight, but textbook manager Janette Monson said, "The students need their books in class, and that's our number one priority." Logan Clifford, who works in marketing for the bookstore, believes students should be grateful for the bookstore. "Students take for granted how lucky we are to even have a campus bookstore. It's a service to the students," he said. "My main goal is to provide what the students need. If you need it, I will put it on my sales floor," Parkinson said. -kayla.clark@aggiemaiLusu.edu Contact USU Police at 797-1939 for non-emergencies. Anonymous reporting line: 797-5000 EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911 the individual and determined that individual was writing on the windows with a dry erase marker. mon area. Police advised the male individual to leave campus and that if he was found sleeping on campus again he would be arrested for trespassing. • A professor turned in a Papyrus translator that was found in the Old Main building. • USU Police responded to the Aggie Parking Terrace in four minutes for a report of graffiti in the elevator of the structure. A report was filed with USU Police and this investigation is continuing. • USU Police received a delayed report of the theft of a black powder pistol from the USU Historical Farm grounds during the Celtic Festival last Saturday. Police are investigating. Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 Saturday, August 28, 2010 • USU Police responded to the parking lot east of Industrial Science in two minutes for a vehicle fire. The fire was small and was put out by police when they arrived. Minor damage was done to the vehicle. • USU Police assisted Logan Police in searching for an individual who ran from Logan Police. The individual was located after about 30 minutes of searching. Sunday, August 29, 2010 • USU police responded to the soccer field near Mountain View Tower on a dog running at large but were unable to locate the animal. • USU police responded to a fire alarm at Wasatch Hall. The alarm was activated by a large amount of hair spray. • USU police was contacted by a complainant reporting a suspicious female in her car. Officer contacted the female who was determined to have some mental problems. Campus & Community Show to feature Hollywood greats By KAYLA CLARK sports senior writer USU students and the bookstore alike are scraping the bottom of the barrel to purchase the necessary textbooks for every semester. Last Spring, the USU bookstore ended their fiscal year with negative funding, said Dave Parkinson, bookstore director. Approximately 75 cents of each dollar spent goes straight to the publisher. By spending $1,000 over the course of a student's education, $750 of that goes straight to publishers. "We don't ever even see that 75 cents," Parkinson said. The bookstore pays high prices in order to keep textbooks on the shelves in the first place. 3 cents of $1 is used to pay USU rent for using their facility. Although the USU Bookstore is run by the university, it still pays a large sum annually to the Taggart Student Center (TSC) to keep their convenient location. Food services pay rent to the TSC as well, and this money goes towards the TSC's budget. The budget is used for things such as keeping the TSC lit and heated and other student funds. 15 cents of each dollar spent in the bookstore goes toward paying employees. Hourly employees start out at minimum wage, and department heads at the bookstore make salaries equivalent to a school teacher, Parkinson said. Another 5 cents of each dollar spent goes toward operating costs for the bookstore, such as the cash registers, vehicles and other fixtures in the bookstore. Parkinson said the store is constantly trying to make the bookstore more cost-efficient, by updating it with a new receiving system, new computers, and more efficient cash registers. The last 2 cents that are left are given to the credit card company. Every time a customer swipes their VISA, Discover or MasterCard, the bookstore pays a fee to those companies for the ability to accept the card. "Every year is a different outcome," Parkinson said. "Some years we make a little money, sometimes we lose it." If there is revenue, it will often go into an account for the years the bookstore has negative funding. Money made on textbooks will also go back to university's funds. Stuart Baker, a textbook buyer, is floored by how pricey books are, he said: "It's amazing how high prices are. We just add a little bit to cover freight and employee labor to get it onto the floor. A lot of the books will cost the student $100, but in most cases, it costs us almost $100, sometimes even more, to get that book available to the student. Even though we buy them in bulk, the cost from the publisher is so high." When asked if he would refuse to buy a textbook that was too expensive, Baker said, "As far as I know, we are required to provide every textbook that professors require, regardless of price. We don't choose the books that we sell." The option to buy online, from websites such as Amazon.com or Half.com, is one that students often fall back on. Books can be found for a lower price online, but a gamble is taken; the book might not be the exact edition needed or may never arrive. The average margin between the price the books are bought and sold for is below 20 percent. "Normal retail margin is about 60 percent, so that 20 percent is laughable to most retail, that we would sell for that low," Baker said. Textbooks are expensive to produce initially. Printing costs, paying multiple authors, and paying for copyrights are all expenses that the publisher has to meet, and can add up quickly. But the ultimate answer is to why textbooks are costly is because they can be. Students are required to buy these books, regardless of the pricing. Dave Hanson, the associate director of the bookstore, said he realizes that the professors control what students buy. Briefs • USU police was advised of a suspicious person parked on the corner of 800 E 800 N taking pictures of individuals walking on the side walk. • USU Police received a report from a student at the Learning Living Center who received a text message on their phone that was of a questionable nature. A report was filed with USU Police and the investigation is continuing. • USU Police received a report of lost property involving a box containing a "Mastering Biology" book last seen in the area of the Family Life building. Tuesday, August 31, 2010 • USU Police responded to the Fine Arts Museum for a report of an individual trying to get into a window. Upon arrival officers located • Police responded to a welfare check. A male individual informed an employee that he was going to hurt himself. Police were able to make contact with the individual who claimed that he was not going to hurt himself. The male individual lives in the Brigham City area. • USU Police responded to a report of lewdness in the library within three minutes. Upon arrival Police were shown the area that the individuals had been in. Police searched the area but were unable to locate the individuals in question. • USU Police responded to San Jaun Hall in one minute for a fire alarm. The alarm was set off by a resident curling their hair. The alarm was reset. The HURD and Aggie Radio will be hosting a pregame patio party Friday, Sept. 10 to amp up students for the first USU home football game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 11 that is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The party on the TSC patio will begin at 12 p.m. Home Game Fridays are now dubbed Blue Game Fridays, and all students are encouraged to sport Aggie blue. All those who attend the patio party and do not wear Aggie blue will not be allowed food or prizes. HURD will provide walking tacos to those who support Home Game Fridays, as well as a limited amount of free HURD memberships and t-shirts. Big Blue and USU athletes will be in attendance. - catherine.meidell@aggienzaiLusu. edu Game conflicts with Ag barbecue After months of planning and collaboration, the committee for the annual Utah Agricultural Products Barbecue announced that the barbecue will be cancelled for 2010 due to multiple scheduling conflicts. The committee found it a challenge to identify an appropriate date for the event that coincides with a Utah State University home football game but doesn't conflict with the Utah State Fair and avoids potential bad weather late in the season. "The decision to cancel was not made lightly," said Lisa Allen, committee member. "This event is a highlight for Aggie families, and we know it will be sorely missed in 2010." Revenues from the Utah Agricultural Products Barbecue go toward funding scholarships for College of Agriculture students. The event showcases agricultural products that are prevalent in Utah, and donations and revenues received have funded more than 60 scholarships, totaling $72,000 over the past decade. The impact of these scholarships is immeasurable. There have been countless students who have come through the agriculture program at USU that have been the beneficiaries of the event's fundraising. One of the many students who received support from these revenues and donations is Brandon Willis, who received a scholarship in 2001. Today, Willis is a deputy administrator for Farm Programs with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) with the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D. C. He oversees all FSA programs under the Production Emergencies and Compliance Division, Conservation and Environmental Programs Division and Price Support Division. Many other students have found similar success as a result of their USU education. 3Compiled by Catherine Meidell ! Co mp ile d from staff and media reports |