{"id":6635,"date":"2013-03-20T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=6635"},"modified":"2013-03-19T12:25:41","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T19:25:41","slug":"open-space-whats-down-with-textbook-lineups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/03\/20\/open-space-whats-down-with-textbook-lineups\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Space<\/em>: What\u2019s down with textbook lineups?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An argument for the more staid and aggravating traditions at Camosun College could be this: \u201cWe\u2019ve always done it this way! A curse on all creative solutions!\u201d There are inexplicable oversights not tied to higher costs, like (finally) moving the smokers further out, or not addressing the very real health issue of perfume-overdosed students in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Something needs to be done about book line-ups (photo by Jean Oliver\/Nexus)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of my top three pet peeves in attending this normally phenomenal institution is the first week of each semester\u2019s access to textbooks. Every semester it\u2019s the same nonsense, although September wins as worst host in the \u201cwelcome back\u201d department. The college stuck in a weeklong waste of time that affects everyone, not just the students.<\/p>\n

The entire process is initially complicated by student loan money only available on the first day. Issuing those funds sooner, one can assume, is impossible, as the government\u2019s inability to break from reliance on bureaucratic traditions is legend. But could Camosun not issue pre-semester credit through the bookstore in lieu of loans? Or offer a more comprehensive rental or online textbook option? And, come on: let us pay less for just the online access code; we don\u2019t need the paper book.<\/p>\n

As a student with an invisible disability, the lineup at the bookstore is a huge issue for me. I\u2019m unable to stand for long periods of time. For the last three semesters I\u2019ve (mostly) avoided this painful barrier by finding cheaper options online. So, instead, I get to bus around town to find the books, wasting time in a process that can take a couple of weeks to find a cheap book in good shape.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ve learned to target the bookstore early in the morning (whether I have to be on campus or not) to get at things like course packs and locker rentals.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think it could get worse. Here\u2019s the latest agonizing textbook twist: the last three courses I\u2019ve taken signalled certain textbooks were needed. I manage to purchase them, under the previously mentioned conditions, only to get to class and not need them. The material was covered in lectures, projects, and presentations, and by going online for answers.<\/p>\n

Returning the textbook only works if you\u2019ve bought the stupid thing from the bookstore. So when I can, I return the book. At least I get to commiserate with bookstore staff when they express irritation over the trouble this causes them in ordering books, only to have to reverse the whole process.<\/p>\n

I am confident that someday these glitches will get worked out. In the meantime, maybe we could afford a row of chairs for that bookstore lineup by next September?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Something on your mind? Send Open Space<\/i> submissions (up to 400 words) to editor@nexusnewspaper.com. Include your student number. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An argument for the more staid and aggravating traditions at Camosun College could be this: \u201cWe\u2019ve always done it this way! A curse on all creative solutions!\u201d There are inexplicable oversights not tied to higher costs, like (finally) moving the smokers further out, or not addressing the very real health issue of perfume-overdosed students in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views","category-march-20-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6635"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6641,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6635\/revisions\/6641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}