Page 2 The Clarion October 30, 1989
Editorial: Why areour book$ $o expensive?
by Lora Woodrum
C.lurion Ansi. hjHti}r
So, you are finally settled. You got your final copy of your schedule,
unpacked and decorated your room, and are anxiously awaiting classes
to start. But wait!! Yes, it’s that hand-dandy syllabus. You know, the
one that tells you exactly what will be expected of you. Whoever would of
thought that it would include spending half of your bank account on “re
quired” texts?
The problem is not only the cost of the books, it is also that most books
are required and yet they are never used. Another problem that I have
noticed is that some students who cannot afford the books simply do not
buy them, which may result in failing courses.
Just as the students need the books to learn, the teachers need them to
teach. But perhaps the faculty could recognize what is really necessary
and order only those books that are essential.
The college itself does not purchase the books. It is handled by ARA
Services. They buy the books from the book companies which give them
suggested retail prices. Then, when the students resell the books at the
end of the semester, the company buying the used books from ARA sug
gests the resale price. In return ARA gets commission from the amount
of books they purchase.
Of course, every business must make a profit, however, there is a dif
ference between profiting and profiteering. There is still the question,
why do we pay so much? Especially when the price of the book we buy at
the bookstore is $11 and on the inside cover the book sells for $8 at a book
store. Or why we buy a book for $50 and in return only get $15! Maybe
this is because of the suggested retail and resale prices, but there must
be some way to eliminate this problem.
Larger universities purchase the books themselves, rent them to
students and at the end of the semester, if the books are in good condi
tion, their money is given back in full.
Now, this sounds pretty fair to me. When I mentioned this to President
Greer he stated that Brevard is too small of a college to be able to ac-
comadate such a program. But after leaving his office I felt secure that
steps will be taken to improve not only the cost of books, but other
bookstore items as well. “We can improve the situation and will,” said
Greer. The Administration is not avoiding the outcry of the students. It
is just a complicated process that cannot be solved overnight.
President Greer also said that when the new book store opens in the
new Student Union, more students will be attracted to its jazzy new look
This means that more students will be browsing and buying. Realizing
this, he hopes that the ARA will agree to his wish, which is lower prices
If they do not, then it may be possible that the school will take over. He
added that we should be able to see a change in the prices within at least
six months.
The blame does not lie with any one souiice. It is just that a com
promise between ARA and Brevard Coll^ge'needs to be struck.
In the meantime, we, the students have to settle with scraping our
pockets for pennies until an advance occurs. That is, at least for another
six months. If by then it is apparent no changes have occurred, well,
let’s just say the flame will be rekindled.
CLARION
Lora Woodrum
Assistant Editor
Scott Holmes
Sports Editor
Sean Frazier
Artist
LorrieA. Diaz
Editor
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Letters to the editor
Hello from Austria!
Dear Brevard College,
Hello from Austria! I hope that things
are going well for all of the faculty and the
students. All is going extremely well for
the five of us.
We have had many interesting excur
sions and several beautiful hikes since we
have been here. So, since it is my turn to
tell everyone about what is going on in our
lives, let me begin with pur most recent ex
cursion to Salzburg. Then, I will recount
our adventure of hiking up Dachstein and
getting caught in a snowstorm.
To begin with, in Austria, stores are not
open on weekends. So, if one wants to shop,
one has to shop in Salzburg, we had to plan
to go during the week. Altogether, it was a
very nice day. We prowled in the stores,
ate at McDonalds, (that made all of us
very happy), and spent too much money.
Finally, this past weekend we had a real
adventure. We hiked up a very large
mountain that is called Dachstein. It was
very pleasant hike up but, on the second
day a blizzard struck the mountain and we
were forced to hike all the way down a dif
ferent side of the mountain. The hike down
was very difficult and extremely slippery
because of the snow and rain. Altogether,
we hiked 22 miles.
Well, that is the news from Austria. I
hope that all is well and will continue to be
so. See you in the spring.
Auf Wiedersehen
Catherine Engstrom