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Senate booksale saves students cash
By Peter Ippel
Staff Writer
FILE PHOTO
Students flocked to the Senate Senate bi-annual booksale in the basement of the Commons Annex. Students camped out as early as 2 a.m. to get the best deals, and by the time doors opened at 7 a.m. the line snaked throughout the building.
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“It’s Dutch community at its finest,” said Betsy Keller at 5:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning while waiting in line for the Student Senate book sale. People began lining up as early as 2:00 a.m. for the 7:00 a.m. book sale. By 5:45 a.m., there were at least 100 people standing outside the door to the Commons Annex and another 10 or so in the entry way by the ATM. Kellers comment was in response to a friend’s wonderment as to why people would stand out in the cold for so long.
Emily Manzon and Christina Ritsema were the first two students in line, arriving at around 2:00a.m.. Although they brought sleeping bags and blankets, according to Ritsema, they did not sleep very much. Instead, they made good use of the deck of cards that they brought. Manzon also said that they got to watch the armored truck come and see the guards refilling the ATM.
“It was kind of scary,” she said. “They had a lot of guns!”
But Manzon and Ritsema only had to wait an hour before they were joined by the next group of dedicated thrifts. Although they arrived very early, Ritsema said that she expected there to already be a line when they got there.
For Ritsema, a good place in line was important because she was looking for an education class math book. “Ed majors are kind of stingy and so I need to be early to find [this book],” she said.
And the waiting paid off, when the doors finally opened; Ritsema not only found her Math 221 book, but a number of others, totaling a savings of over $100. Many other early birds said they had saved about the same amount.
All of the Student Senate members are expected to help at this three to four day event, and although it is a lot of work, “it is a good service,” said Bob Vryhof, Student Senate vice president. On the first day of the sale, Senate members register booksellers and offer assistance in helping students name prices. They then sort the books according to department. On the day of the sale, senate members check people out, monitor the entrance and exits and assist people in finding what they need. As there are no returns, they are careful to check that students have the correct edition. Then, on the two days after the sale, senate members must monitor people picking up the unsold books as well as write checks to those who did sell books.
The Student Senate book sale, a semiannual event, has been going on since before the s. While it seems that there might be competition between the book sale and the bookstore, the bookstore is actually very supportive of the Student Senate book sale. They provide numerous recourses including price lists so that the students can accurately price their books. The unique thing behind the book sale is that Student Senate makes no profits from the sale. Ten percent of the money from the books sold goes to a charity, while the other 90 percent goes to the students selling the books. Not only is it a great place to get cheap books, it is also a good place to get rid of old books.
The charity given to last semester was the Student Emergency Fund. Before that it was Hilltop Christian School in Nigeria and Degagण, a food pantry. This semester’s charity will be a non-Calvin program but Student Senate has not yet decided what it should be. If you have suggestions for charities please e-mail Student Senate at ssenate@calvin.edu. Also, although the sale is over, please remember to check for and pick up all unsold books today or they will become property of Student Senate tonight.
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