THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2006
NEWS 3A
BUSINESS
Ads in textbooks may lower prices
Publishing company working to make textbooks more affordable for students
BY BEN SMITH
Students are constantly being bombarded with advertisements from the radio, television and movies, but now ads may also be popping up in textbooks.
Freeeload Press, Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., was launched in 2004 with the mission to make textbooks and study materials more affordable for college students.
By selling ad space to companies such as Culver's, Fed-Ex Kinkos and Pura Vida Coffee, Freeload Press intends to burden the burden
of buying textbooks off the shoulders of college students.
"I get parents calling, hundreds of e-mails from students, all looking to defray the cost of their education," said Howard
"If Freeload is able to provide materials that meet the needs of students, the faculty will choose them."
mental materials. Such materials include study guides, instructor's manuals and CD-ROMs that are included in the textbook price.
Although companies are spending more money to produce extra materials, Holmes said that most students he talked to didn't use them.
Quinlan, chairman of the board and chief operating officer of Freeload Press.
The company started 18 months ago as a Web site getting 2,000 hits a week. During this last month, it averaged between 1.3 and 1.4 million hits.
Holmes said he thought the idea of letting advertising pay for textbooks was interesting and he saw no way it would binder educational endeavors. But he said advertisements for certain products, such as cigarettes, were problematic.
HOWARD HILDEBRAND Chairman of the board and chief operating officer
David Holmes, professor of psychology and textbook author, said the average new textbook cost a student about $116.
He said the reason for high prices could be attributed to the amount of money spent producing supple-
The small publishing firm is attracting the interests of big firms in addition to students.
Bruce Hildebrand, president and spokesman for the Association of American Publishers, said that the
textbook publishing industry was a highly competitive business reliant on the opinions of professors.
"If Freeload is able to provide materials that meet the needs of students, the faculty will choose them," Hildebrand said. "If not, they will go away."
Kansan staff writer Ben Smith can be contacted at bsmith@ kansan.com.
- Edited by Jacky Carter
POLICY
Photo Illustration by Megan True/KANSAN
Zach Leitz, Introduction to Economics graduate teaching assistant, left, prepares to close a laptop as Allison Haggerty, Chicago sophomore, middle, and Laura Fisher, Steamboat Springs, Colo., sophomore, right, surf the net Tuesday in Budig 120. Some teachers are banning the use of laptops.
Teachers ban laptops during some classes
BY NATE MCGINNIS
Students who enjoy the convenience of using a laptop computer during lectures might have a tougher time doing so as some instructors begin to ban them in their classes.
Some instructors from the School of Journalism, School of Architecture and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have implemented a rule banning laptops.
Lisa Wright, first-year Ph.D. student from Overland Park, teaches Elements of Sociology. Wright has had a ban on laptops during her classes for the past two semesters. Wright said that when she was a teaching assistant in larger classrooms, such as the ones in Budig Hall, she often saw students checking Facebook, playing online poker and even looking at pornography.
"it's one of those things where one student can ruin it for everyone," Wright said.
Wright said that in a smaller classroom, laptop computers were not so much of a problem because she could see the students more easily. She said she didn't think laptops were necessary for students to succeed in her class, because she used mainly overhead transparencies and didn't post anything online.
Laura Fisher, Steamboat Springs, Colo., sophomore, admitted to surfing the Internet during class, but only at the beginning. Fisher said
she primarily used her laptop to take notes during her Introduction to Economics class.
Fisher said it was easier for her to type her notes because she can type faster than she can write.
"When I have the option, I definitely get more out of typing it," Fisher said
Fisher also said that when she studied for her class, having typed notes made the material easier to print off and study.
Colby Guthrie, Fredonia freshman, recently brought his laptop to class for the first time. Guthrie used his computer to register his CPS clicker before class and review notes online. Guthrie said he liked the advantage of being able to view his
notes in class when he didn't have time beforehand.
"I think it helps out a lot to see what you're going to cover that day," Guthrie said.
Unlike the students that caused Wright to implement a laptop ban, Guthrie said he only used his computer for academic work that day in class.
"I got on, looked at my notes and turned it up," Guthrie said.
Kansan staff writer Nate McGinnis can be contacted at nmcginnis@ kansan.com.
- Edited by Brett Bolton
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