Book 'em Danno

While the Feds are spending all their time scoping out Tony Soprano's house, they are totally unaware of a racket taking place far away from the battleground of New Jersey.\nThat other battleground? Bloomington, Ind. And while Tony chooses to deal with his shady business at Bada-Bing, the racketeers choose T.I.S. College Bookstore and the IU Bookstore to plot their latest schemes.\n We all know the pain: celebrating the beginning of September by spending over $300 on five books that we will only open about four times throughout a semester (but we don't realize that until it's way too late). Then we come back in May only to receive $30 for three books (if we're lucky) because two are no longer needed and the other three MUST be worthless.\nThere is no excuse for this and if there is, we'd really like to hear it. It seems like anyone who can profit from college kids can and will to the furthest degree because he or she knows we will consistently pay. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (whose textbook bills probably total into the thousands) to look at bookstores and institutions like Residential Programs and Services dining halls, C-stores and dorms to figure out that we are all getting hosed.\nWhy? Because we have to. College expenses are like gasoline: in a state of total control without any consumer control of cost.\nBut we may be able to fight back.\nAccording to The New York Times, American students have discovered they can buy their books back from overseas dealers because they sell American books at a cheaper price (perhaps this is a reflection of how they view our educational system). The National Association of College Bookstores (which we all would love to join because it sounds like a total party) has written to all publishers asking them to stop this practice that is "unfair to American students."\nWay to go, NACB. Why don't you ask for a pony while you're at it?\nThe Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that copyright law does not protect this practice, shooting down the NACB's request and effectively allowing American students to partake in this glorious opportunity at their will. And publishers have no way of curving the prices, for the prices are fixed to the markets they are in. Raising the prices would just be a bad business decision.\nWe feel no pain for the bookstores.\nThey feel as if they are being ripped off. They feel as if overseas sales are cheating them out of money. It's just not fair!\nWelcome to our world. If you want us to patronize your establishment, then don't patronize us.