Enjoy winter months, look ahead to spring

For those seniors who have forgotten, and the underclassmen who have never experienced one, this is a real Boone winter.

Piles of snow can be found until super-strong mountain gusts blow them at 30 mph. Temperatures become very cold, especially with wind chills dropping well below zero and cloudless nights that give us lows in the teens.

This is heaven for those of us who love winter sports. A unique facet of Appalachian State University is shown now as our proximity to resort ski and snowboard mountains becomes apparent. Where else can you find skiing or snowboarding for class options?

The spring semester at Appalachian, with its winter chill and sunny breezes, explains why many chose to attend college here and gives, arguably, the best Boone has to offer. As discussed above, we return to experience winter in full swing, but we also see the transition to spring, with blooming tulips, daffodils and other flowers on campus and in the nearby mountains.

With nature's thaw-out comes another, as students trade winter coats and wool sweaters for shorts, tank tops and T-shirts. Cabin fever and a warm springtime make places like Winkler's Creek and Price Park popular, and we begin to see more students jogging the loop around campus and lounging on Sanford Mall.

For those of you dreading the winter, these are reminders that an Appalachian spring is worth enduring five months of freezing temperatures. While we enjoy the remainder of winter, The Appalachian has a few tips for any new students to Appalachian or a refresher for those who have forgotten what real winters can be like:

1. You will slip and you will fall. Count on it, but don't let it bother you, since everyone has at one point or another. Just get up and keep going.

2. Spring Break (remember, it's only in the second week of March) does not mean that when you come back it will be sunny and warm. Leave some clothes behind before swapping to spring wardrobes. Snow in April is not uncommon here.

3. If you have not already, learn to ski or snowboard. Not everyone has an opportunity like ours to be in a resort area such as this. Even if you resist becoming a lifelong skier or boarder, at least you can say you've done it once.

4. Class will never be canceled here. The last time classes were called off, it was because the National Guard issued a curfew due to severely cold and snowy conditions.

5. For the sun-lovers, it will be warm soon. One spring here is worth 10 winters.

Rental textbook system offers few benefits

Gerald Witt

The textbook rental system, something many believe to be beneficial, actually puts Appalachian State University students at risk of falling behind.

In comparison to other colleges and universities, our textbook fees may be considerably lower, but the positive aspects end there.

For example, each semester at Appalachian that I have endured has brought me increasing costs for non-rental textbooks and lower usage for the rental textbooks issued for my classes.

Often, a professor will tell the class that the book we are supposed to be using (as determined by the department) is crap. If they don't say that, chances are the reason for us not using rentals are that they are out-of-date.

If professors consider rented books useless, would not the $60 we spend to rent be better put to the textbooks we must buy in lieu of the ones that are rented?

With the exception of my first semester in the fall of 1998 (when I spent $80), I have yet to go under the $100 threshold for textbook purchases. That $60 would have been pretty handy in purchasing some books I would actually use.

According to legislation recently passed by the Student Government Association, 93 percent of the student body supported book rental in a random survey. This is contrasted by a decision by Faculty Senate that said they disagree with the current system.

Faculty Senate would be much better suited to decide whether we should buy or rent books from the school, as they are the professionals who teach us. They know more than we do and we pay tuition to learn from them. With professors' extensive knowledge about their respective subjects, I think they could do a better job picking our textbooks. Under the rental system, we take that decision out of their hands.

In a world where information changes daily (this is especially true for science, technology, political science and communication majors), a two-year old book may not be adequate.

In addition to changes in particular fields, textbooks themselves have changed. Some books now come with correspondence software, a necessary supplement that can be lost or damaged through the rental system. Someone who owns the book will take better care of it and any additional components in order to sale it back for a better price.

How about the benefits for the local economy? If we dropped the rental system, bookstores would flourish in Boone, including the one on AppalachianÕs campus, which holds a tight grip on the current university-student book market.

As a side note, I typically buy my books online as a result of the bookstore being the only true bookstore here. Usually you can find all the books you need at a cheaper price; a contrast to the University Bookstore, which occasionally runs out of some titles.

This addition of bookstores would add jobs and increase Appalachian's visibility. At campuses that do not have rentals, bookstores off campus sell memorabilia in addition to required texts. At those campuses (UNC Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, and East Carolina University come to mind) people sport their school colors much more often. Usually, those colors are bought at the beginning of the semester, with books, in bookstores.

Our bookstore, while it does sell Appalachian wear, does not do it in conjunction with books. A person must stand in one line to buy books, another to rent books, then negotiate a flight of stairs and handle another line to get a T-shirt, hat or any other Appalachian wear.

Switching from the textbook rental system would do more for this university than any new construction. Our education level will improve with expanded options for our instructors and ourselves, a new market will open in Boone and our pride in Appalachian will grow.

To say textbook rental is an overall benefit to the university and its members is to accept mediocrity.