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Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student news organization since 1899

 

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

NIU should adopt book rental program

March 2, 2005

For once NIU administrators should pursue a program that saves students money instead of taking it out of their pockets.

At a recent Illinois Board of Higher Education meeting NIU officials presented the start-up and maintenance costs for a proposed textbook rental system.

Similar rental systems at Eastern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville are saving students as much as $500 per semester, according to published reports.

Eastern students pay $7.95 per credit hour for rented books. A student enrolled in 15 credit hours pays just $119.25 per semester.

SIU-E students pay an even smaller amount per credit hour, $6.80. SIU-E offers fewer majors and therefore textbook rental is cheaper.

Both of these Illinois state schools face the same budget cuts as NIU. Vice Provost Earl Seaver says a textbook rental system is "not cheap."

Funny, these schools have managed to swing it.

Too many NIU students are confronted with shoulder-shrugging bookstore employees who refuse to buy back a textbook. Often, the book has been outdated by the introduction of a newer edition or altogether shelved in favor of a different publisher’s book.

If a student is lucky enough to be in possession of an edition worthy of buyback, he or she is thankful to recoup even half the original purchase cost.

Just as the NIU Board of Trustees is about to vote on a 3-percent student fee increase, and in the wake of the Residence Hall Association voting in support of a 3-percent increase in computing fees for hall residents, students deserve a break from the assaults on their wallets.

Administrators have in their hands a plan for saving students money. They should quit wasting time sitting on it and start implementing it.

Students, media shouldn’t be left in dark

March 1, 2005

University officials left Greeks out in the cold this weekend by suspending all alcohol-related events indefinitely; they also left the Northern Star and students out in the cold Monday night by refusing to allow the Star access to a meeting where the...

Promoting road work a waste of money

February 28, 2005

Illinois is more than $1 billion in debt and now the Illinois Department of Transportation wants to more than double a $1 million advertising contract. Seriously? The Chicago-based firm Danielle Ashley Advertising aims to receive about $2.4 million to...

State shouldn’t pay for medical mistakes

February 25, 2005

Rising medical malpractice suits and ridiculous insurance costs for hospitals and doctors have sent legislators scrambling for ways to keep doctors in Illinois. Unfortunately, the solutions often shift too much of the responsibility from doctors to the...

Daley should leave churches alone

February 24, 2005

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stopped just short Tuesday of recommending the city’s churches have landmark status forcibly imposed on them. Mayor Daley’s machiavellian attitude demonstrates an utter disregard for the separation of church and state....

SA flushing more funds

February 23, 2005

They’ve done it again. The Student Association announced Sunday it would launch an e-mail program, Easy System, that would allow students to sign up for a service that would e-mail notices about upcoming events and job opportunities. And the cost? $100,000....

All drivers should be tested for drugs

February 22, 2005

A bill recently proposed by State Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) would require applicants under the age of 18 to take a drug test to be eligible for learners permits in Illinois. But it should apply to everyone interested in obtaining a permit - not...

Health should be valued more than legacy

February 21, 2005

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to raise the state’s cigarette tax drastically, but where the added funds are going needs to be rethought. The current tax is 98 cents on a pack of cigarettes, and the increase will push the number to $1.73 a pack. If the...

Students deserve summer commencement option

February 18, 2005

The NIU administration feels a summer commencement isn’t necessary, but it obviously was necessary to the many students who utilized the ceremony in the past and those who expected to do so in the future. NIU announced Tuesday it will merge its summer...

Local elections deserve students’ attention

February 17, 2005

If a recent Northern Star poll of 75 students is any indication of how much the general student population knows about the upcoming municipal elections, we have a problem. Just 39 percent of the students surveyed were aware of upcoming elections, and...

Traffic demands university’s attention

February 16, 2005

The intersection of Carroll Avenue and the south extension of University Circle Drive is an accident waiting to happen. An accident is not imminent because of reckless speeders or distracted cell phone yackers but because of drivers’ sheer confusion....

Proposed bill supports direct organ donation consent

February 15, 2005

Although it can save lives, the decision to become an organ donor should not be taken lightly. And so Illinois lawmakers went a bit too far when deciding to let the deceased’s next of kin have the last word in whether the donor’s decision would be...