MSA still plans for student-run store

Students waited in long lines and dished out big bucks for coursepacks again this semester after the Michigan Student Assembly failed to make good on its promise to open a student-run coursepack store by January.

The coursepack store was first promised to students by MSA President Mike Nagrant during last year's campaign.

Nagrant told The Michigan Daily in November that MSA's goal was to produce about 30 coursepack choices for January's book rush, in addition to non-royalty coursepacks for winter term.

"I am disappointed, and I'm sure that students are, too, that have to bear the burden of paying for high-price coursepacks," Nagrant said Thursday. "But we're doing everything that we can.

"Our goal is to have the store open maybe spring/summer term or at the latest, in the fall," Nagrant said.

LSA Rep. Barry Rosenberg said he understands the possible disappointment of students, but MSA is doing its best to keep its promise.

"I'm sure people would want the store open as soon as possible," said Rosenberg, an LSA senior. "But Mike Nagrant is working hard to get it open as soon as possible."

MSA's coursepack store would eliminate the high costs that students pay at other coursepack distributors because students would just pay for the cost of the paper and the cost of the copies instead of paying for overhead costs. The store would be open the first two months of each semester and would operate out of the basement of the Michigan Union Bookstore. Coursepack copies would cost $ .03-.04 per page.

Nagrant also explained that the delay in the operation of the student-run coursepack store is partly due to complications in finding an affordable copy machine to do the job. MSA has been working with Lanier Copy Company.

Lanier Copy Company "won't sign a contract with us unless it's for a year. And that contract works out to $10-20,000 for one year," Nagrant said.

It would be difficult for the coursepack store to put out enough coursepacks in such a short time to pay for the copier, Nagrant said.

"One of the negotiations we're going to try is to get coursepacks for 115 and 116 level math," Nagrant said. The earnings from the math coursepacks "would sustain the copier alone. Right now it's all about cutting costs."

LSA first-year student Brian Reich, who is working with Nagrant to organize the coursepack store, said MSA had every intention of having the copier ready by this semester.

"The goal was to get a high-powered copier in our hands and in place in time for the beginning of the semester," said Reich, an LSA representative and vice-chair of the Campus Governance Committee. "It's a tough thing because these copiers are enormous and enormously expensive."

MSA representatives initially overestimated the altruism of the copier companies, Reich said.

"Admittedly, at first when we went to Xerox and a couple of the others, we were hoping they'd be really generous and just give (a copier) to us," Reich said. "That would be ideal."

Reich said MSA has the support and commitment from some University professors, but MSA still ran into obstacles.

"It's a lengthy process to convince these professors to change the way that they're doing things," Reich said. "It's basically the kind of process where you have to sit down with each one individually and explain the merits of the coursepack store."

Despite the obstacles that have delayed the opening of the store, Nagrant said he is confident that cheaper coursepacks will be available to students by the fall.

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