MWSfcMITh
Nobody like* It. but everybody hat to pay the high cost of college textbooks.
BOOKSTORES PASS THE
BUCK ON BOOK PRICES
Complain all you want. High hook
prices are part of going to college.
Christopher Adasirwir/, I In- Daily Mini, U. of'Illinois
Ylld VI II g«M*S.
Students blame the bookstore*
bookstore managei* blame the publish
eis Publishei N point bat k to the honk
stoics \nd college student* nationwide
pa\ the pi it e
Iowa State l semoi I n* Hamilton has
paid it eight times now Hist veutrMet the
i ost was a $250 tup to the tampus In »«>k
stole to pun have lexdmoks for his tomv
es hoi most in state students who attend
then state utmeisities. $250 is about 1'»
pet< etlt ot seat In tuition
“When students aie test up with paving
that unit It nit Mies on In inks. dies go bat k
to wheie they bought them." Hamilton
saw
I hes go bat k to the plat e wheie stu
dents olten susjH't t tilt's ale the sit tuns ol
needlessls high textbook pines, set b\
then t ampus Utokstoies
“Thes’re not out m the streets match
ing. but students get outraged alxnit high
texdxMtk pines." saw Fait Huang, semoi
at the l of (lalifornia. IW-i keles
llookstote owneis are aware most stu
dents think the high prices are the work
ot gieeds textbook department man
agers hsrn publishing companies air
cpiic k lo jHum out that bnokstoirs deter
mine the pine »tmlrnh pas retailei*
tack on an additional chaise that
amounts to alwiui 2r> pel cent of the book
pm e
“Most students get mad at me. not the
publisher. toi high prices," sass Isle
Jennings, supervisor of I hr ( ampus
Bookstore. an iudr|K*n<lrntl\ owned stole
patiotti/ed hs Iowa State students
But attending to the \ssot iatmn td
American I'ubhsheis and the National
\ss< h i a lit mi of (*4 »llege Stores, on Is an estr
mated .S 9 ck*ii ent t>1 a texifsook’s retail
pi it e is pi e-ta\ me«nne foi the l m m »ksn h e
\bout 21 I |n it ent of the retail prue
jmss ft>t ex|K*ns<*s the bookstore iiums in
receiving. hantlhng and selling the text
Imm >ks
All bookstore*, whethri the s are owned
bt universities oi nt»t. pa\ those exjH iises
\nd those t osts are jcavsrd on t«* students
like \nd\ Harris, a senioi at the l of
()rrgon
"The perception around here is pints
milt h that the bookstore has us where
dies want us to be and tan charge us as
iniK h as thr\ want," I i.1111\ \a\s
Mike hne/ie . 1111 c*c I«*i of ihr
Pennsvl\.him State l bookstore, s.*\s
tli.«t n simplv not Hue. .u least not at his
uimersitv IxMiblotr
“\\ ilh textbooks. we just .1 bo lit bleak
even," kne/K sav*
Most hookstotes, though, don't tome*
e |<ini to hieakmg even in the- used book
market, .in asvlum t<>» students Irving to
avoid high pru ed trxihooks
In t< njmhim to the- ee onomie me cnlive.
trxtbook-iesale ptetgiams have grown
within the p.iNt 10 seats. tne leasing veil
nine o| um*(I behiks .nailable to students
ane) spawning national companies that
(iNxdiuate the distribution of used te xt
lx M »ks
Mam |M*e*ple- think the* huv hat k rnai ket
tiiotecU students from high textbook
pliers hv i< funding about Vr> to 10 pet
e nit eil a te*xtbook s original retail value
and selling used hooks at alxtui a JO to 2.r»
|K*Ie eilt dis«e»unt. But the trxlliook le sale
inehistix ne»l IxMikstoies a\at le e. is what
drives pines se» high, mam textbook
authois ami bookstoie oftu lalssav
“Puhlishris and authors do not make
am nioiiev on the irsale e»t textbooks
e>nh on the sale e >t new lw m iks savs k lel«>n
k ngei. autheu and biologv piotesvoi at
l U Ita ( * dirge in Mie higan
Because bus bae k maikets allow alw»ut
five- students let use the same lxx>k. pub*
lishets pm r lx h tks high ten oset ex|tenses
that selling tin t| r lower [tile eel betoks
would pav . savs Daviel IVnnrv . leXllwHtk
author and matliematie s protevtoi at the
l i tf( **t >| gta
But e ven mote dist oiucTting to stu
dents than high trxtlxtok pines air tin
beh»kste>ie clerks whet tell students thev
e aimol resell tlirii trxtliooks fwtausr stu
denis next semestei will use a new edition
of the- hook
\ nr* edition means students next
seniestei can t take Advantage «d the
|iiwei-piic ed used (exilic m iks
"What really gets me is di.it teat hris
and puhhshris don't think thev can use
the thud edition just lire a use the fouith
edition has a new imri," Hamilton savs
Prolcsvm who write iexd**>ks sav then
(eel a lot ol pressure I rout publishers fot
heejuent revisions. adding that publishers
want ujMcxlatr materials in then Ixtoks
so then lemam competitive with othet
Im N»ks on the niiu ket
"W hen vou sign a contiat t with a pulv
lishei. the con ti at t savs how fircji lent In
the book will he revised," savs Mn hael
( Hliome. Memphis State l commnnita
t ions aits pi olessoi and to an t hoi of
l*uMu Sftftikititf, a i ollege textl*>ok
I iap|K*d In'tween the appe al ol used
IxMik itiaikets and piotessots and puhhsh
eis who t laim die used l*>ok maikets onh
lilt lease* texdxHik Julies, stutleiits seem
to have little t onliol ovei the high price «»l
lexll>ookv
But. unfortunateh, students and l*>ok
stole oil ic ials sav then isit I much < ollege
students t an dti to lower textl>«M>k pi it rs
“I c ould tell students to complain to the
puhlisheis But it wind got out that I told
a hunch of students to 140 to the puhlislv
eis. when I order lx»oks the next time, I
just might heal. We don t have am Ivooks
tor vou,” Iowa State’s [timings savs
► Cast your bet
for the lucky bachelor
Hiis ihe* '90s man forsaken his aniestral
life- and mcnmiic his feat of column
me in \ group oi letent l ot \Vimoni
graduates all Delta Psi fraternity mem
Ih is wouldn't Ik*l on it Ibex xe < reated
the- Ikic heloi I rust ( orp . a fund that puts
a premium on In-mg single
I he fund is the brainc hild of New
I lampshire entieprenem Dougi.es I- akin
He sa\s V> fiat brothers got togethei to
forin the c«uinflation late- last veal
I hex fwmght $1 l shares in the- man oi
men thex thought least likelx towed
For now. the genetal |mm»I. whit h « omes
t«» $‘2,000, will ai» rue interest as the share
holders wait to learn who litanies, thus
tendering aux share s bought in them
worthless, and to find out who holds out
the longest At that point, anxone with
shares in the oldest bat helot will split the
|H»t
1 knew this was something really tun.
sax's hakin, whotoneeived the fund al a fra
lernitv brother s wedding troth as a wax for
c ollege buddies to st.iv in toniat t with eat h
oilier and as a sei ions inve stment
\ud serious it is irakm talks ot liquidity,
sio< k splits, trailing and annual reports
He saxs shares could come to be worth
$1,000 a piece / hr Wall S tin l journal exen
can led the news oi the unique eruleaxoi
Kakrn is hoping othei groups ot voting
men will 1m* impressed bx liat heloi Irust
( orp He- wants to expand bx t r eating sum
lar funds tor fraternities ■Jeff (.rrmillion.
Iktily Hri'nllr, biuisuiui Stale l .
► Undying spirit
If I die befoi e- I wake,
\ irginia let h nix semi
(< > take
l hr
Me i ^i\
Funeral
I ioincut
HI.h k^huig.
\ a , home
ot i hr Ifokir*
— rum of!ri%a
sort la) < a\kn t< »i
the (iu haul Ian
it
Ownci Buddy \1< ( oy says hr t ame* up
with the idea altrt seeing a t askrt designed
vuih thr ( InnHoii l tigei paw on lhr
mode ot the lui Mr Ux»k it a step hlithrt
anti t amr up v%ith an 1 K-gaugr steel t askrl.
burgundy < olored vsith orange pinstriped
edges and a huigundy velvet inirnoi I he
taskri lid displays thr irttris “V 1
Mt ( a»v savs hr originally intruded the
t asket (<» he a tonvrisation piece
"fryrrvtxMh that's mtii it has liked thr wa\
it 1» m »ks." hr va\s
I hat may lx hut |im ( arson, a ( Irmson
junioi. says hr has no plans to Ik* huned in
thr ( Irmson version “I am as big a
( Irmson tan as anyone, hut it still doesn t
make a ditlrirnt r when you tr dead "
I hr t askrt«i »sts alx »ut $2,100, and to date
one* Virginia I rt h t.ui has Ix-rii laid to irst in
his tram s colors ■ Maria Theresa (Gordon,
the Pauano, V. of I rm, San Antonio