The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/opinion/2004/08/27/staff_editorial_campus_store_hours

August 27, 2004 > Opinion > Longer hours could prevent longer lines

Longer hours could prevent longer lines

If there’s one thing that tells us it’s the first week of classes, it’s lines in the Rice Campus Store (See Story, Page 1).

Very long lines. Lines that go down the stairs. Lines in which we learn the name, course schedule and life story of the mechanical engineering major standing behind us.

To avoid these lines, the bookstore should further extend its hours during the first week of classes. We’re glad the store pushes back its closing from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the first three days of classes, but it’s not enough to reduce overcrowding during peak times.

The store should stay open past the dinner hour, even if it means a later opening time in the morning. Students are more likely to be awake at 8 p.m. than 8 a.m. and more likely to buy books. While some waiting is inevitable, shorter lines would mean a better first week for students and employees alike.

We were happy to see that, unlike last year, most of the titles on order in the store arrived in time for classes. However, we’re still a little wary of relying on the Campus Store to fulfill our book-buying needs. Next year the store should post accurate hours on its Web site (which currently lists normal closing time as 5 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m.) and set a later closing time for the first week of classes. We come to the bookstore for books, not a 35-minute lesson in the art of small talk.

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