EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
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BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
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Our
VIEW
“Sexual orientation has nothing to
do with it. We’re going to pick up the
best men that have the best resumes to
send us.”
Tom Scott, Phi Gamma Delta
Fraternity member, on whether or not
they would accept gay members into their
house
“Everybody kind of took it upon
themselves to get ready to play in that
second half and not let the fans, the
state and the Nebraska tradition
down.”
NU fullback Joel Makovicka, on the
Nebraska-Colorado game
“I would like to give southeast
Nebraska a chance to succeed more
than anything else. I truly believe they
can do the right thing.”
Commissioner Dick Davis of Omaha,
on the decision to renovate rather than
relocate Peru State College
1 he system totally tailed. We had it
on speed dial for 2!4 hours straight
with no luck.”
Mike Peterson, salesman at Shooters
Guns and More, on the first day with the
new FBI background check hot-line for
firearms
“We can’t just run negative ads
about the opposition. We must give (the
American people) a reason to vote for
our Republican candidates - not
against Democrats.”
Chuck Hagel, U.S. senator, on his
attempt to replace Sen. Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., as chairman of the
National Republican Senatorial
Committee, which failed
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding
about milk. They kind of look at milk
as something Mom made them drink
at home, and now that they’re away
from home, they don’t want to do that
anymore.”
Jerry Weber, UNL head athletic train
er, on the “Got Milk? ” contest which
came to UNL this week
“Her work ethic is very much
improved - she always had the talent.
And her knowledge of the system has
grown.”
Paul Sanderford, NU basketball
coach, on Nebraska guard Monet
Williams and her improved performance
this year
“I look back - at the time it sucked
-1 look back, and it went fast. But at
the time, it was hard.”
Nebraska point guard Amanda Went,
on the 11 months she had to work to get
back to playing basketball
“I am real happy we are staying in
business. It’s time to get back on
track.”
Larry Boehmer, owner of the Zoo Bar,
on the bar’s recalculated occupancy of
125 and the ramifications that accompa
nied it
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Mook’s
VIEW
Guest
VIEW
Textbook troubles
University Bookstore must diversify its holdings
juziSM sziIlauii is an
associate professor with
the Conversation and
Survey Division at UNL,
Have you ever tried to find a text
book in the University Bookstore? I
am not asking you about the ones that
are used for courses and are kept in a
nice, spacious room at the back of the
store. I mean textbooks in general.
Let me share my own experience with
you.
Not long ago, I visited my old
university (a public university with
roughly die same size of student body
as we have at UNL), where I was a
graduate student for several years.
I met with my old friends on cam
pus and started a conversation about
hydrology, which is my field of
expertise, and on plant biology, into
which I venture only briefly and
occasionally. We could not decide on
a certain issue, so, in order to settle
the argument, we went into the uni
versity bookstore and researched for
a decisive answer.
In 15 minutes, we found the right
plant biology book in which the
answer hid. The debate was settled.
What I learned in the bookstore
did not let my mind rest, so after
returning to Lincoln, I made a trip to
the local university bookstore and
tried to find the same book.
My experience there was a bit dis
appointing.
Not only was the specific text
book missing from the bookshelves,
but I could find hardly any other text
books on plant biology - or on
hydrology for that matter. My first
reaction was that I must be doing
something wrong, I did not look in
the right place, etc. However, soon
enough reality set in.
I would like to explain why I think
the University Bookstore SHOULD
carry a wide variety of textbooks.
One could say, if you need a text
book, go to the library and get it But
there is one thing you cannot do in *
the university library you can in a
nice oooKsiore, ana inai is Drowsing
by subject.
I remember when I was an under
graduate how happy I was finding a
nice textbook that treated a specific
subject interestingly. What a delight it
was to read such a book.
I also remember that it even
helped me to choose my major. I
spent countless days in the university
bookstore reading introductory text
books on all kinds of scientific disci
plines. Of course, I never had the
money then to buy any of the books.
But read them, I did indeed. And it
paid off for me.
Acquiring a general view
(through browsing and reading) about
different scientific disciplines I real
ized that I had a chemistry toward
studying the natural environment, and
becoming a watershed hydrologist
was just the right choice to make.
I believe that mine is not an isolat
ed case. I can imagine that other stu
dents who could not yet decide on a
major would be helped by browsing
through the textbooks in the
University Bookstore. Where else
could they go? If only there were any
thing to browse into.
Having textbooks in the
University Bookstore would equally
help faculty members. Just to stay
with my own example, I have diffi
culty deciding which textbook I
should use for the proposed course I
am to teach next year. I cannot choose
the ones that are already used for
courses, since one wants to, and
indeed must, teach something that is
not already taught.
Of course, I more or less know
what was available a couple of years
ago in the field, but I do not know
exactly what became available
recently (since I became a faculty
member at UNL). The University
Bookstore would be the place to turn
to if only it had the books.
I could mention also that in this
complex world being interdiscipli
nary is one key of success.
Consequently, easy access to what is
recently avauaoie m ainerent suojects
would be a great service the
University Bookstore could provide.
Not to mention that today I can even
afford to buy one or two textbooks
occasionally on my own.
Let me contribute a couple of
suggestions that could make the
University Bookstore a more reward
ing place to go find textbooks:
■ The area where postcards,
football memorabilia, perfumes, etc.
are sold could be shrunk. If you take a
look at the University Bookstore,
you’ll realize that these things are the
main attraction, and the books them
selves look like they are secondary
citizens. They dominate the place -
perhaps they even occupy the largest
area - and you cannot reach the
books without bumping into them, a
clever and widely used marketing
strategy.
I understand that the bookstore
probably would like to make some
extra bucks, but could it not be done
some other way? For example, selling
more compact discs would be more
appropriate and would probably
occupy less space than sweatshirts do.
■ The place where course books
are stored is spacious and not fully
utilized. Why not use this place to
store textbooks other than the ones
that are being used for courses?
■ A couple of chairs and bench
es (found in any bookstore that takes
itself seriously) would help people
with browsing and reading.
■ And, not to forget, the book
store should massively buy new text
books. It could order them on con
signment with a very long return
period if currently funds are a prob
lem. %
After all, even if you have no par
ticular affinity to browsing books, I
believe you agree with me on one
issue: It is everybody’s goal working
at this university to make it a better
place to study and to conduct
research.
The University Bookstore should
be a major player in the game.
