Beat the bookstore

Buying books shouldn’t be a hassle – save that money for buying football tix.

It’s that time of the year – bookstores pull a Houdini on our refund checks.

Overpriced and lavishly illustrated textbooks bundled with ancillaries such as CD-ROMs and DVDs cost students as much as $200 per package.

Drop/Add ends at midnight and some local bookstores stop giving full refunds for purchased books at closing today. The campus bookstore and FTX bookstore stop giving full refunds on Friday.

It’s not too late for students to beat bookstores by exploring alternatives to finding written knowledge. Here are a few tips:

 Professors who authored textbooks usually have extra copies lying around their offices. Get to know your professor, and ask him or her if you could borrow a copy of their book for the semester.

 The University libraries house millions of books, some of which professors assign for reading year after year. Visit http://gil.uga.edu and search for the books listed on your syllabi.

 If the University does not carry the book you’re looking for or it’s already checked out, you can borrow a book from any school in the University System of Georgia. Visit http://giluc.usg.edu and request the book be shipped to the University at no cost to you.

 There are more than a dozen discount book Web sites such as:

www.half.com/textbook
www.biblio.com
www.buycheaptextbook.com

You’ll have to wait a few days for your books to be shipped, but the cash you may save makes it well worth the wait.

 Rent your textbook at www.mrbookhead.com. The Web site allows students to rent textbooks in three day increments for about 10 percent of the original cost of the book. You register online and pick up the book from a local bookstore.

 Find a study buddy. Not only can your duo exchange notes, but you can also share costs of a textbook.

Emergency alert

After this weekend’s criminal events, can there be a faster way to get alerts?

This weekend, three stabbings occurred in Athens, two of which happened on campus. University officials sent an e-mail Sunday evening on the campuswide Arches listserv notifying students, faculty and staff of the stabbing that occurred in the NO3 parking lot at 3 a.m. that morning. The e-mail gave no other details except that “an argument ensued between individuals who were known to each other” and “one of the persons involved had suffered stab wounds”, and said to notify local law enforcement in case of an emergency situation.

In the months after the shootings at Virginia Tech, campuswide alerts are more crucial than ever. While we think informing everyone on the Arches listserv was the right thing, there has to be a more efficient system where students, staff and faculty can be alerted minutes, not hours, after an incident occurs. We also think these alert e-mails could offer more detail – such as an assailant’s descriptive features – so everyone on campus can avoid similar confrontations. The administration is currently developing a UGA Alert system in which students can sign up to receive e-mails, automated voice calls or text messages whenever there is an emergency on campus. For more information, check out www.ugaalert.uga.edu.