University of Maine - Prism Yearbook (Orono, ME)

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The Bookstore $1.9 million bookstore features added space Houses everything from tapes to textbooks by Tammy Hartford Staff Writer After 15 months of construction, the University of Maine is celebrating the grand opening this week of its SI.9 million bookstore. The new store consists of 19,500 square feet of floor space, 60 percent of which is new construction. The store brings together all of the bookstore operations that had been scat- tered over the campus for the last few months. Included in the new store are textbooks, which were housed in a separate annex for the last 18 years. The bookstore is holding drawings and giveaways for its customers this week. Every hour, a cassette tape will be given away. At the end of the week, a drawing will be held for a compact disc player, said Sharon Cole, bookstore manager. T-shirts and book covers are also be- ing given away throughout the week, she said, and all merchandise will be sold at a 10 percent discount until Christmas. So far. Cole said, the response from both customers and employees about the new store has been positive. Cora LeVasseur, who has worked in the bookstore for 4 Vi years, said she and her co-workers had been looking for- ward to working in the new store. “We’re happy, happy, happy,” she 1. “And proud, proud, proud. It pleases me that the students seem hap- py about it, too.” Many students said the new store would take some getting used to, but they like what they’ve seen so far. “It looks really good, ” said junior Karen Barrett. There’s so much space. You can move around better to get what you want. ” “I love it, it’s great,” said student Kristin Limoge. “It’s so big, I could get lost.” Cashier Darlene Moore said having everything in one store makes her job easier. “We’ve been really bbsy, but I like it,” she said. I like everything right here so I don’t have to tell people the) have to go someplace else to get something. ” Most customers said they liked the convenience of having everything under one roof. “I’m not sure where everything is yet, but at least I know it’s all here under one roof,” Susan Smith said. Before, 1 wasn’t sure if something was at the library or in the union or where it was. ” Denise Buzynski, a cashier at the bookstore, said customers arc not the only people confused. “They (customers) don’t know where anything is, and we don’t know where anything is, either,” she said. “Nobody docs, but we’ll get used to it.” bria folk' ••I jtftr lii r.'j H SB's Mae'! IfCN :«3ti -.ks untft: ££yOX no?eo Ufat Suds s pisooc star

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GSS adopts resolution to address parking problem by Jonathan Bach Staff Writer There arc 10,272 parking decals issued for 5,336 parking spaces at the University of Maine. Tuesday night, the General Student Senate made provisions to address the problem. After an active debate, the GSS passed a resolution making the parking shortage at UMaine a senate concern. Off-campus senator Curtis Stone sponsored the resolution, which originally called for the establishment of a separate committee to address the problem. Off-campus students are getting a bad deal as opposed to faculty and residents,” he said. Stone said off-campus students have a greater need for parking because they don’t live on cam- pus and h£«ve to commute. The wording of the resolution was changed, however, in an amendment proposed by off- campus senator Jessica Loos. In Loos’ amendment, the parking problem would be a topic of the existing Student Affairs Committee. I’m not sure forming another committee is the most powerful and effective way to solve the problem,” Loos said. Steffon Fitch, board of trustees representative, proposed that senators ask freshmen if they real- ly need cars on campus. “Maybe that’s what it’s come to,” he said. Off-campus senator Melissa Johnson agreed with Fitch’s proposal for a freshman parking ban. “I lived for two years on campus without a car. I had no need for one. I was able to live a normal life without one, ” she said. Parking woes c4 11 b 'Ve t 7 ? (tor t an f cX (W 7 nr a J V at A u Of im 3ZS K photo by Scott LeClair This sign was discovered in (he window of a car illegally parked outside of Lord Hall. Whether police believed the driver remains a mystery. She viewed the creation of a park- ing committee as redundant. “There’s already an administrative committee on parking,” she said. “And as part of the people who don’t control the purse strings directly, the best way to get through to them is by pressure. ” But off-campus senator Gary Fogg disagreed with the idea of a parking ban for freshmen. There’s no need to single out freshmen for a pro- blem the administration has caus- ed,” he said. Fogg agreed, however, that pressuring the administration was necessary. “It would be a much more con- structive use of our time if we went right to (Lick),” he said. That’s the only way to get something done. ”

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The Campus Operator Operator keeps people in touch by Linda Rivers For the Campus “This is an information center, not just a switchboard,” Dennis Sands said with a smile in his office at Alumni Hall. Sands has been the University of Maine’s telephone operator for 5’ i years, handling all telephone calls com- ing in on the university’s main informa- tion listing. When he took the position, the university was just changing to its new telephone system. Sands was replacing two people who had been using a large, old-fashioned switchboard. “When I started here I was green, ” Sands said. “I had only been on cam- pus once or twice in my entire life, so sitting here was a crash course. ” Now a seasoned veteran of the switchboard. Sands said nothing sur- prises him anymore. I’ve gotten all kinds of questions asked to me over the years,” Sands said. “I just try to keep up on the con- tinual changes and steer people in the right direction. ” Sands said he enjoys working for the university despite the stress that comes with the job. Most people don’t realize what it’s like to take calls one right after another,” Sands said. “It never stops. But it makes me feel good that peo- ple do appreciate what I do, ” Sands concluded. A lot of people remember to say thank you, and that means a lot.”