We all start the semester with excruciatingly long lines, crowded aisles, and depleted bank accounts conveniently brought to us by the Barnes & Noble campus bookstore. Has anyone here at St. John’s ever had a pleasant bookstore experience?

The long lines are easily taken care of: the bookstore simply hires some extra workers to cope with the student rush during the first few weeks of classes every semester.

Unfortunately, that is not the only problem. The managers must have a rather leisurely schedule, for they seem to make it their duty to redecorate the bookstore every semester. Theology books are moved from one aisle at one end of the store to another aisle at the opposite end of the store. This semester the project was aimed toward arranging books in alphabetical order. Why weren’t they arranged in alphabetical order from the very beginning?

This whole redecoration must be part of equal opportunity laws. Sophomores, juniors and seniors would already know where to find their books for each class, giving them an unfair advantage over freshmen, so the bookstore comes in and rearranges the book order every fall and spring.

And we wonder why the tiny aisles are always packed with students. Since we all have to familiarize ourselves with the new order all the time, it takes each of us longer to find the books we need. Claustrophobics are advised not to walk in the aisles for serious side effects include increased chances for a panic attack. Most people I spoke with agreed that the bookstore staff is always very helpful. The congestion is not their fault and there’s only so much they can do. They can’t physically increase the size of the aisles to make room for more than one person to walk through. They also can’t help to find books that are not there.

I am sure we would all endure all the hassles if only the bookstore had reasonable prices. Stephanie Russo, a staff member, said that the bookstore can increase the price of a book by up to 25 percent of the amount they pay for it.

“They are way too expensive,” said James Beauvil, a paralegal major. Heather Virdukes, a freshman in pre-law said that “you can always get lower prices if you buy your books online.”

Buying books online also comes with the convenience of delivery right to your door and the lack of having to fight your way through an aisle packed with students. Another way students have found to save a few dollars when they purchase their books is by taking a five minute walk to Ed’s Bookstore right across the campus.

Our campus bookstore carries more than just textbooks. They also have an overpriced inventory of school supplies, school spirit logo items (like t-shirts) and more. However, the latter items are spread liberally throughout the front area, leaving the tightest spaces in the back for the bookshelves. For their next redecorating event the bookstore should think about expanding the shelves into the clothing area instead of overstocking the already congested shelves in the back.

We all start the semester with excruciatingly long lines, crowded aisles, and depleted bank accounts conveniently brought to us by the Barnes & Noble campus bookstore. Has anyone here at St. John’s ever had a pleasant bookstore experience?

The long lines are easily taken care of: the bookstore simply hires some extra workers to cope with the student rush during the first few weeks of classes every semester.

Unfortunately, that is not the only problem. The managers must have a rather leisurely schedule, for they seem to make it their duty to redecorate the bookstore every semester. Theology books are moved from one aisle at one end of the store to another aisle at the opposite end of the store. This semester the project was aimed toward arranging books in alphabetical order. Why weren’t they arranged in alphabetical order from the very beginning?

This whole redecoration must be part of equal opportunity laws. Sophomores, juniors and seniors would already know where to find their books for each class, giving them an unfair advantage over freshmen, so the bookstore comes in and rearranges the book order every fall and spring.

And we wonder why the tiny aisles are always packed with students. Since we all have to familiarize ourselves with the new order all the time, it takes each of us longer to find the books we need. Claustrophobics are advised not to walk in the aisles for serious side effects include increased chances for a panic attack. Most people I spoke with agreed that the bookstore staff is always very helpful. The congestion is not their fault and there’s only so much they can do. They can’t physically increase the size of the aisles to make room for more than one person to walk through. They also can’t help to find books that are not there.

I am sure we would all endure all the hassles if only the bookstore had reasonable prices. Stephanie Russo, a staff member, said that the bookstore can increase the price of a book by up to 25 percent of the amount they pay for it.

“They are way too expensive,” said James Beauvil, a paralegal major. Heather Virdukes, a freshman in pre-law said that “you can always get lower prices if you buy your books online.”

Buying books online also comes with the convenience of delivery right to your door and the lack of having to fight your way through an aisle packed with students. Another way students have found to save a few dollars when they purchase their books is by taking a five minute walk to Ed’s Bookstore right across the campus.

Our campus bookstore carries more than just textbooks. They also have an overpriced inventory of school supplies, school spirit logo items (like t-shirts) and more. However, the latter items are spread liberally throughout the front area, leaving the tightest spaces in the back for the bookshelves. For their next redecorating event the bookstore should think about expanding the shelves into the clothing area instead of overstocking the already congested shelves in the back.