Students and staff give their side of the story after the first week of Spring Semester
By Jessica Lueck
Staff Writer
It’s hard to avoid a line, or a book being sold out at the bookstore when it is the first week of the semester. However, this semester was an especially horrific one for the students and staff at ARCC. Students were waiting in half hour long lines, missing books even after a week of the semester has passed, and it left students wondering “what’s going on?”
Emily Cooley, a PSEO student, gave her opinion on the bookstore fiasco. When asked about her experience this semester with the bookstore, and if she had any frustrations or if she was simply curious about what was happening she offered her two cents.
“I think that there needs to be more space for bags to be put, or maybe some more registers so we can get in and out faster,” said Cooley.
Cooley also stated that she understands that the beginning of the semester is always a bit busy at the bookstore, and she commends the staff stating that they were “working very hard,” and that they have been calm and very helpful.
Carrie Pramann, who has been at ARCC for a few years has a few tips for students to avoid the bookstore frenzy as much as possible. Pramann said she chose to order her books online, that way she wasn’t stuck in a sea of other students ravaging for the same textbook.
“I did have to stand in line for a long time to pick my books up, but I am kind of glad this all happened. Because the textbooks aren’t here for my classes, I don’t have to do the reading until it’s fixed,” said Pramann.
This is a positive way to look at it, but isn’t the perspective everyone has.
Matthew Vang, a student worker at the bookstore was able to give a little bit of insight as to why the bookstore has been so hectic lately. Vang has worked at the bookstore for almost a year and he explained that this circumstance was both unusual and unforeseen. Vang said that his former supervisor Matt Venneman had resigned from the bookstore at the end of the year.
“He was the man with the handle on all of the processes that made the bookstore run smoothly,” said Vang.
Right now Heidi Vidor has taken the place of Venneman for the textbook portion of the bookstore duties, but they are still looking for additional help.
“The staff is doing their best, and they are currently hiring for a new bookstore manager,” said Vang.
In the meantime, the staff is working extra hard to make sure students get everything they need for their spring semester. Vang predicts that by next week the bookstore will be back to normal for the most part, and the lines and issues with picking up your desired textbook should be resolved.
