KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 / NEWS
5A
LAWRENCE
Renting textbooks relieves checkbooks
BY BRENNA LONG
blong@kansan.com
Kim Scherman found a new way to save money this semester: She rented her textbooks instead of buying them.
"I had never rented, but I was just frustrated with textbook prices," Scherman, a sophomore from Eudora, said.
Scherman rented her books from Chegg.com — a move that saved her $258. Companies such as Chegg and BookRenter, another online company, allow users to rent books and ship them back at the end of the semester.
In response to students increasingly turning to sites such as Chegg and BookRenter, University Book Shop, 1116 W. 23rd St., has started its own renting program this semester.
At University Book Shop, customers can now pay half the price of a new book to rent it for the
semester. After students return the rental, it is sold as a used book. University Book Shop rents about one-quarter of its titles, Colby Venema, manager of University Book Shop, said.
"The prices have gone up dras
tically, and this will also give students more used books in the future," Venema said.
When Kayla Higginbotham, a junior from Overland Park,
able to rent the rest of them."
When students weigh the costs of renting versus buying, more factors than the price come into play. Book production can also take a toll on the environment.
Chegg gives its shoppers a way
"I had never rented, but I was just frustrated with textbook prices."
went into University Book Shop for her textbooks this semester, she wasn't looking to rent her books.
But when she left, she said, she wished she could have rented more than just one.
KIM SCHERMAN
Eudora sophomore
the Chegg website
The general idea is to offset the carbon footprint, Johannes Feddema, professor of geography and environmental studies, said.
According to its website, Chegg has planted more than 4,000 acres of trees, which is four times the size of the Lawrence campus.
"When I went to check out, I got
the choice between Guatemala, Lake Tahoe and somewhere in Africa," Sherman said. Because of her interest in Latin American studies, she chose to plant her trees in Guatemala.
To tell other students about Chegg, Scherman, along with Nolan Kappelman, a junior from Lawrence, and Gina Cohn, a sophomore from Overland Park, made fliers about Chegg and spent a few hours handing them out on campus.
Although some students are sold on the idea of renting, others have their reservations.
Colleen Young, a freshman from Chicago, sticks to buying her books from the bookstore.
"It is just easier," Young said, "I can walk in and get what I need. Then I just take them back to the same place when I'm done."
— Edited by Katie Blankenau
WAYS TO RENT BOOKS
1
To search online, first find the ISBN number for the textbooks.
To find the ISBN number go to kubookstore.com. Once there, click the textbook link at the top of the page. Go through and find the courses needed. A list me up of the titles and ISBN numbers.
NATIONAL
To rent textbooks, put the ISBN numbers into the search bar at websites such as:
chegg.com bookrenter.com collegebookrenter.com
The companies offer free return shipping for the textbooks.The renter then prints return labels at the end of the semester.
To rent from the University Book Shop, the customer has to go into the store to see if their book can be rented.
To buy books online, go through the same process of putting in ISBN numbers to search for the best deal on books at websites such as:
- amazon.com
- textbooks.com
- half.ebay.com
San Diego mayor changes stance on gay marriage ban
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — San Diego Mayor jerry Sanders opposed gay marriage — until he learned his daughter was a lesbian in a committed relationship.
The mayor took the witness stand on behalf of two same-sex couples suing to overturn Proposition 8, the state's voter-approved ban.
He testified Tuesday during a trial on California's same-sex marriage ban that the change was a defining moment in his personal life and his political career.
"The kickoff for the campaign, a lot of people weren't there," Sanders testified.
Sanders, a Republican, said he lost support within his party and had to work harder to be re-elected after he opposed the 2008 ballot measure.
The trial, in its sixth day, is the first in a federal court to examine whether denying gays and lesbians the right to wed violates their constitutional rights. Throughout the trial, backers of the ban have tried to show the ballot measure was not motivated by deep-seated bias toward gays. Such "animus" would make it more difficult for the measure to pass constitutional muster.
Brian Raum, a lawyer for Proposition 8 sponsors, cross-examined the mayor about his one-time opposition to gay marriage.
"You don't believe that you communicated hatred to the gay and lesbian community, did you?"
Raum asked.
"I feel like my thoughts were grounded in prejudice, but I don't feel like I communicated hatred," Sanders said.
Raun also played a commercial produced by the Proposition 8 campaign claiming supporters were subjected to vandalism, slurs and physical violence during the 2008 election.
"You would agree that it's wrong for people to suffer violence as a result of their political views, would you not?" Raum asked.
"I would," Sanders agreed, adding he could not verify that supporters of the ban in San Diego experienced widespread harassment or if the ad was a campaign tactic.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, center, speaks at a news conference next to his daughter Lisa in San Francisco on Tuesday. Jerry Sanders took the witness stand on behalf of two same-sex couples suing to overturn Proposition 8, California's voter-approved gay marriage ban. Lisa Sanders is married to Meagan Yaple. At left is San City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
MEDIA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Struggling newspaper owner files for bankruptcy protection
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pedestrians walk past newspaper boxes of Canwest-owned Vancouver Sun and The Province daily newspapers in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. Canwest Global Communications has placed its cross-Canada newspaper chain under credit protection and will put it up for sale next week, with a group of lenders by the country's biggest banks ready to kick off the bidding.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Newspaper owner Morris Publishing Group filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday as part of a plan worked out with creditors to cut its debt by about $288.5 million.
The privately held owner of daily newspapers including The Augusta Chronicle, Savannah Morning News and Topeka Capital-Journal announced last week that it would file a "prepackaged" plan, preapproved by a majority of its creditors, in federal bankruptcy court.
Its filing Tuesday comes as the holding company for MediaNews Group Inc., owner of The Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News, is working out its own Chapter 11 plan with creditors. More than 10 other newspaper publishers have filed for bankruptcy protection since December 2008.
Newspapers struggled during
control of the company after emerging from Chapter 11. Bondholders would receive no equity in the company in the exchange. But the
the recession... as advertisers pulled back on their spending and readers continued their shift to online news. The these trends have made it harder for some publishers, such as privately owned
These trends have made it harder for some publishers ... to repay debts they took on for acquisitions during better times.
MediaNews and Morris, to repay debts they took on for acquisitions during better times.
The company's plan lowers Morris' overall debt to $126.5 million from about $415 million. The restructuring plan includes a bond exchange that would trade the company's existing unsecured debt for $100 million in new bonds — erasing $178.5 million owed to creditors.
The restructuring plan would allow Morris' owners to maintain
"Once the restructuring is finalized and approved by the court, we will be on much firm-
new debt would carry a higher interest rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.
The exchange must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Morris said about 93 percent of existing noteholders voted in support of the reorganization plan, short of the 99 percent the company needed to settle its debt out of court.
er financial ground," said Sandra
Sternberg, a Morris spokeswoman.
Morris' court filing said the company had $175.5 million in total assets and $482.4 million in liabilities.
Court documents list Wilmington Trust FSB as the company's largest unsecured creditor, pegging the company's claim at $278.5 million. Newsprint vendor Abitibi-Consolidated Sales Corp. claims it is owed $365,000 and more than a dozen other creditors are claiming accounts of less than $100,000.
Sternberg said the company expected no interruption in normal business and hoped to emerge from Chapter 11 in six to 12 weeks. Morris has 1,847 full-time employees and 335 part-time workers.
The Morris newspaper group started in the 1940s when William S. Morris Jr purchased The Augusta Chronicle, where he began working as a bookkeeper in 1929.
The company has daily newspapers in eight states — Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, South Carolina and Texas — as well as more than 60 non-daily newspapers and magazines. The Florida Times-Union is the company's largest newspaper, followed by The Augusta Chronicle and the Savannah Morning News.
ARM YOURSELF. H1N1 IS STILL A THREAT.
Free H1N1 flu shots for all KU students, faculty, staff, & retirees NOON TO 2 P.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 22 WATKINS MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTER Download consent form at studenthealth.ku.edu Bring form and KU ID to clinic