Seton Hall University - Galleon Yearbook (South Orange, NJ)

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Movin On Moving to a new community is something that everyone ex- periences at least once in his life if not two or three times. The univer- sity community shared this ex- perience twice in only four months when the bookstore relocated its facilities in September from the Student Center to the corner of South Orange Avenue and South Center Street, and then moved back to its original home on campus in January. Why did the bookstore move in the first place? According to Bookstore Director Margaret Ahrens, former President Robert Conley thought moving would be a good idea to have “more free space on campus and to expand the bookstore operations in a bigger area.” It was President Murphy’s deci- sion to move the bookstore back to (Left): Worker prepares for the bookstore’s move back to its original home in the basement of the Student Center. (Top of page): Lines await stu- dents at the South Orange Avenue Bookstore. its original site mainly because of convenience for students and the “safety factor” involved. Ahrens explained that several traffic acci- dents occurred at the busy intersec- tion and that it was unsafe for pedestrians to cross from the Uni- versity to the store. Another problem was the high crime rate that store owners in the immediate areas also faced. Mrs. Ahrens referred to the recent rob- beries at Regan’s Liquor Store and Eat N’ Haul, which had an effect on the safety of the bookstore. Moving was a cumbersome chore and the bookstore had twice as many headaches because of the two moves. Some of them included the handling of merchandise, packing and unpacking, late delivery of equipment, floods and vandalism. Mrs. Ahrens mentioned the break- in over the Thanksgiving weekend in which soft goods such as bathing suits and sweatsuits were stolen from the Student Center location. When asked what the employees’ initial reactions to the first move were, Ahrens responded, “We were

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[j ding Blocks of Knowledge (Above): Sixteen different fields of study are all discussed and mastered within the walls of the College of Arts and Sciences. (Below): The School of Business and the College of Nursing combined, hold the largest number of majors on campus.

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The University Bookstore Proves . . . You Can Go Home Again shocked and then we looked forward to it until we realized all the problems we had to face.” Comparing the sizes of the two facilities, the building across the street measured 8,000 square feet whereas the Student Center area was only 4,000 square feet. In mov- ing the second time Ahrens ex- plained that the bookstore did not lose any money and tha t all of the new equipment purchased for the larger facility was also utilized in the smaller one. She added that, ‘‘A new floor plan was created to make walls where there weren’t any and dividers were constructed to provide room for the extra shelves.” The bookstore did not lose profits across the street because the period from September to December allowed them to do “good Christmas business” and attain profits from the fall “book rush.” Ahrens said that the bookstore’s primary purpose is to serve stu- dents, faculty and staff and that the employees feel more secure in the Student Center location than on the street. Serving the campus com- munity more effectively, the bookstore expanded its gift, paper- back, teacher’s aids and children’s literature departments. When the spring semester began on January 16, the bookstore was ready to do business and the lines were as long as ever with frantic students. When asked about the bookstore’s relocation, students had mixed opinions, but most agreed that the Student Center site was more convenient. Junior Robert Truncali com- mented, “It was a waste of time and money moving back and forth” but added that the original site is more convenient. Another junior, Paul Taylor, said, it was “poor judg- ment” to move across the street and added that if he needed to buy a pen between classes he did not go to the Student Center street loca- tion because it was inconvenient. With the bookstore back on campus it was more convenient to buy something without being late for class, he said. (Top): Students face long lines at the South Orange Avenue location. (Above): Bookstore Director Margaret Ahrens checks the stock of Christmas specials in the store’s temporary home on South Orange Avenue. 29