Here we are again: Another year at UW-Madison filled with football games, parties and-overpriced textbooks? The first week of school has brought about one very unfortunate reminder: The students aren't always first. Without a university-affiliated bookstore on the UW-Madison campus, targeting the specific needs of students has become a thing of the past.
The goal of an affiliated store is simple. It provides a non-profit service that entirely supports the rights, not to mention the sanity, of students. The University Book Store and similar merchants located near the UW-Madison campus areinstead privately-owned, profit-seeking organizations with no actual ties to the university or the students it is titled to serve. However, they continue to claim themselves as a helpful, student-oriented places of business. While this claim has held true in certain instances, it still manages to inhibit UW students from gaining many important benefits that should be considered rights instead of privileges. One of these rights targets the students financially.
Money spent by students at an affiliated bookstore is transferred back to them either directly through book exchanges and refunds or indirectly by providing funds for academic organizations, clubs and committees run by the students themselves. Because UW-Madison's stores are big businesses of their own and not an included part of the university, students never actually see their money again, unless through deficient, illegitimate refunds at the end of the semester. Such refunds are hardly considered beneficial when the books were so outrageously priced to begin with.
Low prices are a trademark of university-affiliated bookstores. Without making a profit of their own, these bookstores have no reason to overcharge their customers, resulting in better deals for students. Madison's bookstores are the only option for students, so getting ripped off is not a choice. Perhaps this explains why a recent professor of mine gained the strict attention of her students when she offered a free textbook for the course for the highest number of correct answers on a quiz. Such a seemingly boring prize quickly captured the interest and enthusiasm of every student throughout the lecture hall-not too surprising after paying monthly rent and tuition that leaves many of us feeling penniless.
As with other universities who house affiliated bookstores, dedication to students does not stop at low prices. It is also common for these stores to offer a number of employment opportunities strictly to students from the university in which it is associated. Priority is given to the employment of these students before anyone else, and special internships allow students to learn specific accounting, marketing, retail and graphics skills that will benefit them in their careers. With this in mind, students are actually getting paid to learn as well as becoming more acquainted with their peers and benefiting from the interaction. In the same respect, students feel more assured that they are getting the better deal when their own cohorts are selling them the material.
Another extremely positive benefit of a university-affiliated bookstore is the availability of all materials. The relationship between the university and its professors promises that all necessary materials will be available at one location. The convenience of this situation is often foreign to UW-Madison students, who usually find out in the first weeks of class that additional books and readers are required for the course but must be purchased at other stores or copy centers where the materials are seldomly accepted back for a refund. Not only does this increase out-of-pocket spending, but it also eliminates the ideal one-stop shopping.
While it is common knowledge that a university education does not come cheap, the installment of a bookstore affiliated with the university would reduce some of the unneeded stress. The request for UW-Madison's excellent reputation and strong relationship with its students to extend to the purchase of course materials shouldn't be too much to ask. Lower book prices, increased employment opportunities and a dedication to students should be recognized as a right and not a privilege. Though expenses and time commitments are an accepted component of post-secondary education, a little money left over for games and parties isn't an excuse for ignorance. It is just how we stay sane.
Jessica Sprang is a sophomore majoring in journalism. Her column runs every Tuesday in The Daily Cardinal.
