Mustang Daily, May 14, 2002

www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO Second-time champs: Tuesday, May 14,2002 W(;men s lacrosse beats Air . t Force for title, 8 Shut the hell up: /’m watching a movie,6 TODAY'S WEATHER Volume LXVI, Number 130, 1916-2002 High: 70» Low: 49° DAILY El Corral vs. Aida's — business partnership By Kristy Charles any time of the year, including when years. El Aida’s does not. probably would not offer many of the MUSTANG DAILY STAFF WRITER books at Cal Poly are discounted. Corral must “We also carry three rimes the services we do, like VIP buyback and “We usually check prices before offer the best amount of u.sed books that Aida’s the shop-once program.” “Lowest prices yuaranteed!” the quarter starts, and we still have prices, Cawley does,” he said. “ Highest huyhack!" “All titles guar R L P O iR T lower prices," she said. said, biowever, Despite conflicting claims, El Textbook requisitions anteed in stock!" While El Corral does not claim to if it can be Corral has among the lowest profit When it comes to buying text have to lowest prices except during proven that margins in the California State As appreciative as Cawley is for books at bookstores, how do students this period, it di>es claim to have the another store will buy a textbook University system, Cawley said. Most the competition, Aida’s has to pay to know which claims are accurate and highest buyback. Aida’s claims to back for a better price, El Corral will CSU bookstores’ margins, or how receive the list of books that Cal Poly where they’ll truly get a better deal? have the lowest prices, yet neither of match the price and add 10 percent. professors will use each quarter. The binding out is much harder than it much prices are increa.sed in order to cost is around five cents a page, seems. these claims are ba.sed on statistical make a profit, range from 25 percent Comparison shopping C?awley said. El C?orral, tor example, claims to evidence. to M percent. C?al Poly’s margin is “We have to solicit the informa have lower prices on certain books at “ It’s just based on comparison around 25.5 percent and has not Mustang ITaily compared prices on tion from the faculty and constantly shopping," Fryburger said. “ It’s not been increased in 10 years, he said. a specific period during the quarter. five books from different majors and call the departments,” he said. “We based on any factual information.” Aida’s would not di.sclose what its “The top 100 titles the first few course levels. On average, books have four people that dtT nothing but Cawley agreed, saying that El margins are. Even though having weeks before class and the first two from Aida’s were almost $5 cheaper that and it takes a lot of time. 1 don’t Corral supports its claim of the high competition may seem detrimental weeks of clas.ses are cheaper (at El than those at El C?orral. think what we charge is outrageous, est buyback by comparison shopping. to El Corral, Cawley said it has C?orral)," said Frank C?awley, El A reason for this, C?awley said, is and the owner of Aida’s has never In fact, El Corral used to claim the improved the services the store offers C.'orral director. This is because the because after the first twiT weeks Lif complained that it was.” lowest prices, but since so many peo to students. store discounts its Kioks during this the quarter, all the textbooks at El Some universities offer the list free period, in which it sells 99 percent of ple complained about better deals Corral return to normal retail prices. “It has made us more competitive iTf charge to competing bookstores their textbooks, he said. elsewhere, they had to stop. Also, El Corral has to carry every and 1 seriously WLinder if we would because the information comes from Yet, Traci Fryburger, a manager at Since no one has complained title ordered by the faculty, whereas discount books at all if Aida’s wasn’t .Aida’s, said that its prices are lower about buyback prices in the last two here,” he said. “Without Aida’s we see BOOKS, page 7 Design contest updates bike racks Marketing team takes first at national competition By Stephanie Perry you knew it, no one else ci>uld touch MUSTANG DAILY STAFF WRITER It," Lagier said. The team’s product was a golden While many stiklents were sitting roma tomato from Sun Roma, Inc., in cla.ssrooms listening to their pro- located in Arroyo Grande. Sun fe.s.sors’ lecture, five agribusiness stu Roma approached the N A M A team dents packed up and headed east to with a project that required the stu- demonstrate why C2al Pt>ly is one of Lients tii design a way to export yel the top ,schcH)ls in the nation. low tomat(x*s to the Japanese market Seniors Kimberly Aspiras, ■ /- »V■V' , at a premium price. Finding a mar Kathleen Corcoran, Jack Lagier, keting solution was challenging, Camille Robertson and junior since Sun Roma currently has the Amanda May ux>k first place in the \ imly prtKes.sed yellow tiimato in the student marketing competition at world. the National Agri-Marketing Students worked on the plan for Conference and TnKle Show, April about six months, during which time 17 to 19, in Nashville, Tenn. they conducted K k u s groups and sur The students are part of the veys to re.search c*imponents of their National Agri-Marketing plan. They also presented their plan y Association (NAMA). NAMA is a to various faculry members, four professional organization that seeks cla.sses and two clubs. All of the to enhance knowledge, skills and expiTsure helped prepare the team contacts associated with agri-market members for the questions they ing. It consists of both professional would encounter during the competi AARON LAMBERT/MUSTANG DAILY and student chapters. tion, Lagier said. Profes.sors Tom Frawley and Phil Noel Gatter, an industrial technology senior, is the grand-prize winner of a bike rack designing “They tore us apart and they did Doub coached this year’s team. It is contest. His design has staggered sections to cut down on bikes getting tangled. that to make us stronger,” he said. the eighth time in 25 years that Cal In the first two rounds of the com Poly has won the competition. Last petition, the team gave a 20-minute By Amber Hodge Grand-prize winner Noel Gatter height, u-liK'k applicability, stagger year’s team placed second at the pre.sentation to a panel of three MUSTANG DAILY STAFF WRITER designed a rack with staggered sec ing sections and convenience tif niTt ccmipetition, which was held in judges, which was follow'ed by a five- tions SL1 that the hikes would not having to reach down to liKk one’s Winners of a bicycle rack design Denver, Colo. minute question period. The final become intertwined. bike. His final version consisted of contest were awarded Thursday as “Everybody goes to that competi round consisted of another 20- “About a year ago, I was locking all of these CL>ncepts, and he was part of an effort to address bicycle tion and they want to win and we awardeil a 24'speed mountain bike minute presentation, this time to a my bike,” said Gatter, an industrial went to that competition with the is.sucs on campus. from Caipeland’s. panel of five judges, and a 10-minute technology senior. “When I came objective of winning,” Lagier said. Funded by a grant from the Air After the designs were submitted, question period. back to get it, the handle bars were Each team Cal Poly faced in the Pollution C?ontrol District, the industrial technoliTgy students man Not only did the N A M A team stuck in somebody’s cables because quarterfinals had either won or been money was originally intended fiTr ufactured the designs. present its plan at the competition, they were about the same length. I in the final round during the last purchasing new racks. After a cre Rixlney Efoadley, an industrial but it also gave a three-hour pre.sen was having a bad day and was irri three years. In the final round. Cal ative thinking meeting, the Bicycle technoliTgy professor, .said that after tation to Sun Roma, Inc., showing tated that I was having difficulty- Poly beat Florida, Ohio State Task Force decideLl to use the seeing the potential for each design, the company all of its research. The University and the University of money for a bicycle rack design con getting my bike out.” the group of .students would modify ctunpany has already begun to imple test, said Deby Anderson, com Gatter worked on four different Tennessee. ment some of the strategies createtl muter .services coordinator. prototypes, with variations of see RACKS, page 7 “We raised the bar, and we raised the bar some more and then before see NAMA, page 7 News Need TRAFFIC SCHOOL, but don’t want to waste time in an 8-hour class? TrafficSchool.com offers on-line and workbook traffic school 24/7 in the convenience of your own home. ^ / X t i ? Order On-line at: www.trafficschool.com Don't bogart that Daily! Wecvther I Order Toll-Free at: 1-800-691-5014 Promotion Code: mustang cod« onun« or c«ii toiMr«« / E«pir«« i/i/04> WATCH See why C^IPoiy students Approved Throughout California such as you have made us the ■ = TrafficSchool.

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