The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 26, 2001 Page: 7 of 28
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Recommendation calls
for on-campus store
THE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2001
STORE, from Pago 1
would be at a location near campus,
such as the corner of Greenbriar
Drive and University Boulevard.
The third option included
outsourcing the store but moving it
to a new location on campus, such as
the Wiess College Commons (after
Wiess students move into the new
building) or a future convocation
center near the stadium.
'/ don't see how we can
improve the store and
leave it in that space. It
is a hole in the wall.
Their thing was that it
is just a crummy kind of
a bookstore, and that's
true when you leave it
in that space.'
— Michelle Jones Vanderwater
Campus Store manager
"If they outsource it to something
like Follett or Barnes and Noble,
[we will have] books that we want
throughout the year," SA President
Gavin Parks said. "And books that
you would want to get at a bookstore
off campus now you can get at an on-
campus bookstore."
Baker College president Neil Little
said he thought the Wiess Commons
would be a good new location.
"I think the Wiess Commons
sounds like a great place, especially
if the company that (the bookstore!
is outsourced to takes on the re-
sponsibility of remodeling." Little, a
senior, said.
In their letter to Gillis. SA Presi-
dents Jamie Lisagor and Parks and
GSA President Miles Scotcher said
they preferred to keep the Campus
Store on campus so that it would
remain part of the student environ-
ment. If the store could not be lo-
cated on campus, the SA and GSA
said there would have to be frequent
shuttle service to the store, espe-
cially during the first two weeks of
each semester.
Lisagor. a Hanszen senior, and
Parks, a Martel senior, said they
supported outsourcing because they
thought a corporately managed
bookstore would provide a better
environment and more services.
Campus Store Manager Michelle
Jones Vanderwater said she felt
outsourcing the store and moving it
to a new location would be a good
solution to the bookstore's problems.
"I thought they were all three very
viable scenarios, except for the one
of leaving the store where it is,"
Vanderwater said. "I don't see how
we can improve the store and leave it
in that space. It is a hole in the wall.
Their thing was that it is just a crummy
kind of a bookstore, and that's true
when you leave it in that space."
Vanderwater said the current
employees of the Campus Store
would be offered employment at the
new store, even if management were
outsourced.
Pomerantz. a psychology profes-
sor, said the committee addressed
three primary issues regarding the
store — quality, location and the
management model — in order to
come to its recommendations.
Pomerantz said the committee
agreed the current location of the
store in the Student Center is not
adequate in size, limiting the range
of services the store can provide.
The committee looked at other
universities across the country that
had outsourced management of their
bookstores for guidance on the is-
sue, Pomerantz said.
"More and more universities have
come to the conclusion over the
years that managing a business is
not what they're good at," Pomerantz
said.
The committee surveyed Rice
students, faculty and staff last year
to determine university opinion
about these issues.
"I think it's fair to say there was
divided opinion about the current
status of the store — some people
found it OK, [whilej other people
found it far less than OK," Pomerantz
said.
Pomerantz said one issue where
undergraduate students were in
agreement was location.
"Although the undergrads
weighed in on all the issues and
differed a little bit on this and a little
bit on that, there was one where
they had a very clear concern that
the bookstore not be put all that far
away," Pomerantz said.
Another issue many students felt
was important was prices at the book-
store. Many students expressed con-
cern that prices were too high,
Pomerantz said.
Pomerantz said the committee
studied other bookstores around the
country and found that Rice's prices
were actually in the middle of the
range.
While many online textbook re-
tailers offered lower-priced books
last year, most of those companies
have since gone out of business,
Pomerantz said. Vanderwater said
online booksellers had little impact
on book sales at the Campus Store.
I think it's fair to say
there was divided
opinion about the
current status of the
store — some people
found it OK. [while]
other people found it
far less than OK.'
— Jim Pomerantz
Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee
on the Rice Campus Store
Pomerantz said if Rice did
outsource management of the store,
prices would not increase.
If the bookstore were to move
out of its current location to a new
location on or off campus, a signifi-
cant amount of space would become
available in the Student Center.
"I think the Rice paraphernalia is
the stuff that people expect to find in
the Rice Student Center, so it would
be a loss if that moved, but it would
be made up for by the gain in addi-
tional meeting space," Assistant
Dean for Student and Recreation
Centers Boyd Beckwith said.
Parks said if the Campus Store
moved, he would like to see the va-
cant space converted to meeting
space or space for student organiza-
tions.
"There's just a lot of possibilities
that could be used in that location,
and we don't feel that the campus
bookstore is really the best use of
that space," Parks said.
KONSTANTIN TSVAYGBOYM/THPFSHEF-
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Horton Foote explained the "how to" question of writing plays and screenplays
in a speech Oct. 21 in Stude Concert Hall in Alice Pratt Brown Hall.
Foote discusses playwriting methods
by Jeff Lin
THRESHER STAFF
Two-time Academy Award-win-
ning screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-
winning playwright Horton Foote
gave advice to students on how to
write a play Oct. 21 in Stude Concert
Hall in Alice Pratt Brown Hall.
In his speech, entitled "Some
Thoughts on Writing Plays and
Screenplays," Foote spoke about the
"how to" of playwriting, a subject on
which he questioned a number of
his peers.
"Most of them responded. The
way you do — I just write them,"'
Foote said.
Foote. who has authored more
than 20 plays in his career, grew up
in Wharton, a small Texas town, and
is revered for his ability to translate
his personal small-town experience
into his playwriting. Foote began his
career as an actor but turned exclu-
sively to writing plays after his first
two plays were successful.
Although he rarely directs his
own plays, Foote emphasized the
importance of stage elements to any
production. Foote has worked
closely with a number of choreogra-
phers and actors in the productions
of his plays.
Foote concentrated on what he
called his "real strength" —
storytelling.
He said the popularity of a play
does not prove its worth.
"Walter Kerr said that the audi-
ence draw was most important, but
among people that know, the best
works are not always the most popu-
lar," Foote said.
Foote criticized some modern
playwrights, saying he felt the origi-
nal "How to?" question was becom-
ing the "how to" of making money in
the theater.
"Playwriting is becoming more
like screenwriting than the other
way around, as it used to be," Foote
said. "In screenwriting, however,
Hollywood owns your work and uses
it for purposes that aren't art."
In the end, Foote explained there
is not just one how-to method, but
gave some general advice to bud-
ding screenwriters and playwrights.
"Read plays you like and study
them," Foote said. '"How to' is not
willpower, nor study. Write about
what you know."
Work for the Thresher.
thresher@rice.edu
A message from the
Committee on
Examinations and Standing
(EX&S) to Rice students:
Greetings. The deadline for dropping courses is
Friday, November 2. If you drop a course, the
Registrar will give you a carbon copy of the signed
form used for this purpose. Please retain the form
since it may become relevant to subsequent
petitions to EX&S. The same is true of signed
add-forms and other documents received from the
Registrar. They should all be kept in a safe place.
Deadlines appearing in the Academic Calendar are
firm. So if you plan to drop a course this semester,
make sure to bring the required form to the
Registrar by November 2.
We wish you a productive semester.
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Liu, Leslie & Reichle, Robert. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 26, 2001, newspaper, October 26, 2001; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443159/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.