Bookstore, AS talk on textbook prices; AS reconsiders funding relief concert

By Laban Pelz
The Collegian

Ron Durham knows all too well the complaints from students about high textbook prices.

He’s been in the textbook business for about 25 years, working along the way at Humboldt University and San Francisco State, and has been the director of the Kennel Bookstore for five years.

Durham spent about 30 minutes during Thursday’s Associated Students meeting explaining the prices of textbook and how the textbook industry operates.

The discussion was in part to help develop the Student-Faculty Textbook Taskforce, which will examine the reasons for high textbook prices at Fresno State in order to recommend actions to lower textbook prices.

Durham said one way to lower textbook prices is to have professors turn in their requisites for textbooks for the next semester before buyback time.

In this way, Durham said, the bookstore can figure out if students can get 50 percent of the original price, or the textbook will be sent to a book warehouse or wholesale book company, where students can get about $10 for their book.

It also gives the bookstore more time to look for low textbook prices, he said.

“Professors don’t understand the impact it makes make when they turn in their requisitions late,” AS President Jennifer Reimer said.

Durham said students could help lower textbook prices. “Professors are going to listen to the students. They’re the best people to keep the prices down,” he said.

Other reasons for high textbook prices, Durham said, are supplementary materials, such as solution manuals and CD-ROMs some professors ask for.

He also said he’s not opposed to outside options like used book Web sites, but he noted to keep a careful eye on return policies.

Also, the student senate approved to allocate funding to organizations, including:

The $400 remaining in $1,400 of the Women’s Alliance “Take Back the Night” event on Oct. 19; the AS finance committee approved $1,000 last week.

The $45 remaining in $1,045 of the Lambda Alpha Epsilon Criminology Career Fair event on Nov. 10; the committee approved $1,000 last week.

The $960 remaining in $1,960 of the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week event on Oct. 20; the committee approved $1,000 last week.

The finance committee held a special meeting Thursday to reconsider the denial of funding to the USU Productions Hurricane Relief concert based on the concern of the event time of 7 p.m.

The committee also received a new proposal in which USU Productions omitted the $5 admission charge and would only ask for a $3 charge for the public. The event, which will be free to students, will be held at the Satellite Student Union Oct.6.

The result of the meeting was the denial that the funding of the event would be an inappropriate use of student funds.

The finance committee said it was concerned the event might not receive enough donations to cover its expenses. With the Satellite Student Union’s 800-person capacity, the concert would have to bring in about $4,000. The committee was concerned that money was going to the event and not the cause, considering the estimated cost of over $3,500.

Finance committee president Esmeralda Santos said the last week’s denial included the basis that the event time would be unfair because the committee has approved funding for another club and organization event held at the same time.

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