Sundance Books prepares to close textbook outlet

This spring marks the last semester that students can visit the Sundance Books textbook outlet. The store will be open for book buyback at the end of this semester, but the textbook section of the business will then be relocated to the Sundance location on Main Street. Sundance Books manager Fred Mingrino said that the need for a smaller-scale operation is due to a recent decline in sales.

“We are staffed for a lot more business and in the last couple of years with the online sales, we just can’t support everyone anymore,” he said.

According to Mingrino, the plan will be executed this summer and the change was decided roughly one year ago. He said that after the move, Sundance will be stocking far fewer textbooks.

Students will still be able to purchase all humanities books at Sundance. Sundance will also sell any textbooks they acquire from the buyback, granted they are still relevant for the following semester. The number of staff for the textbook store will decrease from about six or seven people to only one or two.

Sundance Books has been in Geneseo since 1972. The textbook business was originally located in the basement of the Main Street store. As the business grew, Sundance bought the building on School Street where the textbook outlet is currently housed. Sundance does not yet have plans for that building, which will be empty after the move.

Mingrino said business started to decline five years ago, but that the last two years have shown the most dramatic decrease in sales.

“A few years ago, we could order 50 books and sell 50 books, but in the last couple of years we can order 50 books and sell one or sell 10. We just don’t know,” Mingrino said.

He attributed this change to the fact that many more students are buying their books online before they arrive at Geneseo each semester.

“We thought we were having a good battle with Amazon, but it looks like they knocked us out,” he said. “But we’re still here, we’re not totally gone.”

The Geneseo Bookstore located in the College Union is the other source for textbooks in Geneseo. In an email interview with bookstore manager Steve Klintworth, he said that the store uses eFollet.com. The website is a tool for ordering textbooks online through the bookstore. He said that this tool has allowed the store to compete with other online retailers and that attention is focused on making the site easy to use.

“Our students continue to choose the campus store or our eFollett.com website for great service, value and convenience of accessing products in-store, online and from any mobile device,” Klintworth said.

Mingrino said he believes the decline in textbook business is the result of a shift in the nature of shopping.

“To the younger generation, buying online is natural – it’s easier,” he said. “My generation and the generation before that had to go into stores (credit richard). I have so many older people who come in, whether they buy a book or not, just to chitchat. I don’t see that energy coming up through the generations.”

Although the textbook store is closing, the Main Street store has plans to stay put for a while.

“We’ve always been book lovers and we love talking about books with people; that’s pretty much the main reason we’re staying here,” Mingrino said. “We’re willing to stick it out if we think there’s a brief ray of hope out there.”

Third issue of Gandy Dancer released

This semester’s issue of the State University of New York’s online literary magazine, Gandy Dancer, is complete. The issue became accessible online on Wednesday April 23. The launch party will be on April 30 at 2:30 p.m. in the College Union Hunt Room. Geneseo students produce Gandy Dancer, but submissions are open to students from all SUNY campuses. The magazine publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and visual art.

Gandy Dancer is edited by the students enrolled in English 426: Editing and Production Workshop. The class was first offered during the spring 2013 semester, and each respective class publishes an issue at the end of the semester. English professor Rachel Hall instructs the course, teaching students how to perform a variety of tasks necessary for producing the magazine.

“Students have been involved at every level,” Hall said in an email interview. Students select pieces, format the journal and publicize the magazine, among other tasks.

Hall said that students from her creative writing classes founded the magazine. “[Gandy Dancer] is the only SUNY wide lit journal and we wanted to connect with writers and artists on other SUNY campuses,” Hall said. Electronic resources & digital scholarship librarian Joe Easterly has been heavily involved in making the publication a reality.

Gandy Dancer uses the Open Journal System software program to create the magazine. Students in the class learn how to use this tool. The software is designed for publications that will be available to the public – anyone can view Gandy Dancer online.

Junior Cassie Nicol is the teaching assistant for the class this semester. She said that the issue has been viewed online from all over the world, although most of the hits on the website have come from New York. In addition, print copies of the magazine can be purchased online through Amazon.

“It’s free online, you don’t have to do anything to read literature,” Nicol said. “Just go to the website and you can read four issues of student-made, student-edited and student-produced work.”

Gandy Dancer received 215 submissions this semester, although only 21 pieces will be published. Students from 13 SUNY schools have submitted their work to the magazine to date.

This literary magazine is unique for a number of reasons. Nicol said that to her knowledge, it is the only literary magazine that accepts submissions from across the SUNY system. In addition, using a class as the editing team is a distinctive technique.

“Every single semester it is an entirely new set of eyes and mindsets that put the journal together,” Nicol said.

Hall said that some additions have been made to the publication since it began. A section called “Post Script” was pioneered in the fall 2013 issue. This section gives the opportunity for a student who has graduated to have work included in the magazine. The fall 2013 issue was also the first issue of Gandy Dancer that was available in print.

Hall said that this semester’s issue will be the first that includes a song. A poet and a musician from Geneseo worked together to write a song, which will be included in the magazine. Both the lyrics and the sheet music to the song will be provided, and a recording of the song will be available online.

The April 30 launch party for this semester’s issue of Gandy Dancer will feature readings from those featured in the magazine. In addition, live music will be provided from the student whose song is published in the magazine.

CAS catering grants deplete well before end of semester

Campus Auxiliary Services’ funding for catering grants was depleted in early April. These grants are awarded to recognized student organizations and provide food and catering services for these organizations’ events. The organization submits an application to CAS describing the event and how it will benefit the Geneseo community. CAS must approve each grant application, and the grant money is written into the CAS budget each year.

Executive Director of CAS Mark Scott said that the CAS grant money provides the extra resources to improve events or make them possible.

“People are giving their time and energy, but sometimes the material resources or financial resources are a little sparse,” he said.

The approved grants are distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Scott said that this is the second year in a row that CAS has run out of grants to distribute before the end of the year. CAS awarded about 140 grants to organizations on campus last year; this year, they distributed about 160.

Scott explained that some organizations that have applied for grants will not receive the resources they requested because the “volume and pressure on the grant pool.”

Scott said that the grants have gotten more attention in recent years because of a greater focus on publicity and communication. For this reason, there have been more applicants and applications have been received earlier in the semester.

There has been extra money available for CAS grants the last two years, according to Scott. This is money that CAS saved because it does not have to pay rent for Letchworth Dining Hall while it is under construction.

Because Letchworth will be open next year, there will be less money available for grants. Scott said that, to compensate for this change, the application process will become more competitive.

“I think that the thing that we want to do is to really award the grants to people who are out there doing some sort of legitimate work out in the community,” he said. “It may not just be first come, first served; I think that we’re going to ask people to write more compelling requests supported by both quantitative and qualitative information and maybe even some follow-up from the event.”

He also said that there has been preliminary planning for a grant review committee. This committee would be made up of community members who would select which events receive grant money.

Scott hopes that eventually CAS will be able to provide grant resources for all organizations in need.

“Over the last seven years, I’ve seen a lot of good being done with this grant money,” Scott said. “I want to be able to make more money available for more great work.”

Graduation ticket shortage, scalping call for revamping of distribution

The Geneseo administration has formally addressed the issue of students selling their graduation tickets to other students in an email from Interim President Carol Long on April 7. The email stated that tickets to the graduation ceremony are the property of the college, and therefore, it is illegal for students to sell them. In the email, Long encouraged students who have tickets they will not be using to give them to classmates who need them, “in the spirit of Geneseo’s values of community and integrity.”

Each student who will be participating in commencement is allotted four tickets for the event. The college intends for graduates to give these tickets to people they want to be present at the ceremony.

Commencement activities will be held on May 17 in the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena. The arena’s size allows only enough room for each graduate to have four guests. Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio said that every year students hope to acquire extra tickets to the ceremony.

Andrea Klein, director of campus scheduling and special events, said that the school has been somewhat aware that students sell their commencement tickets to other students. She explained that the scope of the practice became evident this year, when the college received many complaints about the issue.

Klein said that she received many calls from parents “who can’t believe that their son or daughter would have to buy a ticket to get a family member into the ceremony.”

Senior Katie Becker, Student Association president, said she thought it was unfortunate that people would try to profit from the graduation ceremony.

“People are taking advantage of students’ desires to have their complete network of family and friends at graduation,” she said.

Sancilio said he believes that the tickets are being sold between friends and through a Facebook group called “Graduation Tickets-May 2014.” The group has almost 250 members and features posts from individuals both looking for and offering tickets.

Starting next year, an online system will be used for commencement ticket distribution.  The system will offer the option for students to donate tickets that they don’t need to a pool of extra tickets. Students who need extra will then have access to these tickets.

“The solution doesn’t exist right now with people inside [the arena] because we have a finite amount of seats, and that’s the bottom line,” Klein said. “We can only by law and for safety reasons put so many humans in the ice arena.”

Sancilio and Klein both mentioned that, when the college stadium is completed after 2015, the graduation ceremony could take place there. The stadium would seat significantly more people than the ice rink.

Both Sancilio and Klein noted Geneseo’s pillars of community and integrity as reasons students should not sell their tickets.

“Geneseo is a community. We share with one another; we take care of one another,” Sancilio said. “If someone needs a ticket, wouldn’t it be nicer just to give them a ticket?”

Tim Hortons to replace Books & Bytes

Campus Auxiliary Services plans on replacing Milne Library’s café Books & Bytes with a Tim Hortons, according to Mark Scott, executive director of CAS. Books & Bytes provides an array of food options for students including baked goods, snacks, coffee and panini sandwiches, while Tim Hortons is a Canadian fast-food restaurant chain known for its breakfast food and coffee.

Tim Hortons would be a licensed store, like Starbucks in the College Union. This means that CAS would utilize the Tim Hortons business model and product ideas but run the store and collect revenue itself. Scott said this model benefits both parties because the corporation can expand its brand without having to invest in starting up an individual store and CAS receives most of the revenue.

The details of the plan are still in the works, such as financial implications and designation of management. Although the project is not yet finalized, Scott hopes it will be implemented within the next 18 months.

Other colleges, including schools in the State University of New York System, have Tim Hortons restaurants on their campuses. Scott said CAS is taking time to research the nature of those arrangements so Geneseo can use the best possible model moving forward.

Scott said he believes that bringing a Tim Hortons to the Geneseo campus will benefit the students.

“For me, it is important to do things that take pressure off students who have meal plans,” he said.

He said that, because Tim Hortons is a popular choice for dining, it would attract customers who normally do not eat on campus.

“We have to find new ways to bring in people into the operations, and one of the best ways to do that is to offer brands that people patronize when they’re home doing their own thing,” Scott said.

The revenue from these transactions would make on-campus dining less expensive for students with meal plans.

Scott said he believes Tim Hortons restaurants are generally “quite meaningful in terms of restaurant and dining satisfaction,” adding that the new eatery will be a positive addition to the options available to those students who live on campus and have a meal plan.

CAS has explored other possibilities for license stores as well, Scott said. Other options under consideration include Au Bon Pain, Mighty Taco and Einstein Bros. Bagels. CAS is interested in bringing regional restaurant chains to campus in addition to national ones, as Scott said, “I believe that we have to have a good balance between self-branded concepts and nationally branded concepts.”

Monroe Hall facilitates science, math community

Monroe Hall began housing a Living-Learning Community in fall 2013. The LLC allows students to live with the same individuals who they take classes with and offers other academic opportunities, such as tutoring and additional academic programs. The community aims to provide a network of academic fellows for support and to foster discussion and application of schoolwork outside of structured classes. Monroe was recently renovated, and it began housing students in January 2013. Monroe housed exclusively transfer students for the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters.

After it was renovated, Monroe received a Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. This award acknowledges that Monroe has met criteria for sustainable buildings set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Assistant Vice President for Facilities & Planning George Stooks came up with the idea for making an academic connection with the scientific innovations that are used to make Monroe energy efficient.

“The science orientation grew out of the college’s commitment to sustainability,” Dean of Residential Living Celia Easton said.

The preliminary LLC was for freshmen who had declared physics or biology majors or who were undeclared; these students would then take classes together. Distinguished Teaching Professor of Physics Stephen Padalino science discussions and tutors were available in the building.

Suraj Uttamchandani, a senior math major, holds office hours in Monroe for the LLC calculus classes.

“I feel like I have a great relationship with my students there, and it’s nice to see them work together as a group,” Uttamchandani said.

Department Chair and professor of physics Charlie Freeman said that much of the physics staff has given informal presentations to the students in the LLC.

Easton said that students who are interested in the same topics often band together to create support in the form of study groups.

Residence Director of Monroe Stephanie Haynes said that the atmosphere of Monroe has changed since the LLC program was implemented.

“It’s studious this year; it’s a quieter building. There are always students in the study rooms,” she said.

Easton said she hopes the LLC will grow and develop over time. Restrictions on majors incorporated into the LLC could change, but she said the focus would remain on science. Variety in academic focus would allow more comprehensive discussion of scientific topics.

In the 2014-2015 school year, 80 spaces are reserved for physics, biology or education majors. The other half of Monroe residents will be returning students who are placed there through housing selection. Residents in their first year will be required to enroll in a common set of classes that correspond with their respective majors. Second, third and fourth-year student residents can have any major and do not take required classes; however, they are able to participate in residence hall programs.

Residents of the LLC will participate in a summer reading program along with Dante House residents, in which all residents will read the same book and participate in a book discussion in August. Members will also collaborate on a community service project.

Applications for those seeking to live in the Monroe LLC for the 2014-2015 school year are due May 4.

Landlord ownership impacts student satisfaction

The majority of students at Geneseo opt to live off campus for their junior and senior years. Landlords, the village, and the students interact to create the off campus housing system. Students who live off campus participate in life as part of the college and citizens of the village. A survey of students who live off campus provides insight into the distribution of property management among landlords, and the satisfaction of their respective student tenants.

The Lamron editorial board distributed the survey via social media on Nov. 15, 2013. The survey addressed a range of questions concerning off campus housing. 214 people responded to the survey.

Students rent from various landlords in Geneseo. Some property owners manage only one residence, while others own many housing units.

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Zoe Finn/Photo Editor

Rocco Dragani houses about 230 students, many of whom approve of his level of service.

Of the individuals who responded to the survey, the most frequently cited sources of housing were the complexes Ambassador Apartments and The Meadows. There were also a handful of individuals who were the landlords for a significant number of the respondents. About half of those who responded to the survey live on a property owned by an individual who also owns the residence of four or more other respondents.

The majority of respondents whose landlords own other properties do not feel that their service is affected by their landlord’s other responsibilities.

Rocco Dragani manages High Street Property Management, LLC, a company that rents to about 230 students. HSPM accounted for eight percent of responses to the survey; a sizable amount by comparison to other landlords.

He believes that the size of his business is beneficial to his tenants. “I think you have to have enough [properties] for it to be your fulltime job and to have staff to help you,” he said. “I think that that helps the tenant because you’re able to provide a lot more services.”

59 percent of respondents listing HSPM as their rental service said their maintenance was “standard,” with 80 percent of standard maintenance happening “quickly,” and the remaining 20 percent saying “somewhat quickly.” The the remaining seven percent of HSPM respondents said they received “above standard” maintenance, all of which said they were responded to “quickly.”

However, 35 percent of the survey respondents who listed HSPM as their rental service said that they received “below standard” maintenance. Of that 35 percent, the response time for requested maintenance varied greatly from within one day to a week or more.

Dominic Fricia is another major landlord, who made up for eight percent of responses. 86 percent of respondents who listed him as their landlord said they received “standard” maintenance, with seven percent saying below standard and seven percent saying “above standard.” 79 percent of the Fricia respondents said their response time for maintenance came “quickly.”

This data suggests that, when a landlord manages a great deal of property, it can have a negative effect on some tenants; in some cases nearly one-third, and others as low as 14 percent.

Margaret E. Duff, a trustee on the Geneseo Village Board pointed out that rental properties are often visibly less well kept than houses that are owned by their residents.

Geneseo does have a rental code, but it does not address aesthetic upkeep of rental properties.  The code was implemented in 2005 and gives general guidelines for rental properties. Most of the code focuses on safety regulations. The rental code also requires that rental properties be registered with the village. Dean O’Keefe, the Geneseo village code officer, said, “I think that the overall quality of rental units has gone up since we’ve had the law in place.”

Duff also said that landlords are responsible for enforcing rules that regulate activity in the houses that they rent to students. Landlords are fined if regulations such as nuisance laws are broken repeatedly.

The Village Board of Geneseo stressed that the presence of students living in the village brings activity that is predominantly positive for the community. Bob Wilcox, a village board trustee, said, “Being a college town with students keeps a small town from being stagnant.”

Deputy Mayor of the Village of Geneseo Sandra F. Brennan, said, “I think we’ve done our best, and this is a place where we can live and students can be welcome.”

Organizations prepare for women’s leadership conference

Since 2009, the Women in Leadership Conference has promoted conversation about challenges for women seeking leadership positions. This year’s conference will be held on March 5. The conference incorporates many different organizations on campus, including the Women’s Leadership Institute, Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development, the Klainer Center for Women in Business, the Geneseo Alumni Association, Access Opportunity Programs, Student and Campus Life, and the Center for Community.

Junior Ashley Jones, student director of the Klainer Center for Women in Business, said that the input of multiple organizations is beneficial to the conference.

“Each organization brings a different perspective and point of view to the discussions,” she said, in an email interview.

Students and faculty from these organizations make up a planning board, which creates the conference program. There will be seven workshops in the daylong conference, each aimed at informing students about the unique way that women fit into leadership roles.

“The purpose of the workshops is to provide an opportunity for women to talk about women’s issues in leadership focused on that for a day,” Associate Dean of Leadership and Services and Director of GOLD Tom Matthews said.

Some of the workshops will feature panels of guests with a connection to the topic of women in leadership, including Geneseo alumnae.

Senior Klarissa Garcia is the student advisor for the Women Leadership Institute also involved in putting together this year’s conference. Garcia said it’s important for students to have the opportunity to talk to people who have created successful careers for themselves after attending Geneseo.

“They understand what Geneseo is about and how you feel when you’re going through life here,” she said.

In one annual workshop, titled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” panelists will share personal stories and give advice on how women can deal with inequality in the workplace.

Another choice for attendees is “Power Couples,” in which a panel will discuss strategies for balancing family life and work.

“A lot of women would like to have a career but also want to have a family,” Matthews said.

At the end of the day, there will be a dinner for students and alumnae, providing an opportunity for networking, and keynote speaker Andrea Holland ‘01, a Geneseo alumna and executive communications consultant.

Garcia emphasized that one of the goals of this conference is to provide opportunities for students after graduation.

“We try to build the relationship between alumni and Geneseo students because you get to certain places in life because of who you know,” she said.

“It’s all about helping students succeed as they move from college into their careers,” Matthews said.

Students can sign up for the workshops in the conference through the GOLD website.

A syllabus that calls for entrepreneurial spirit

Successful entrepreneurs must demonstrate a unique combination of abilities. To build a business, one must be passionate, hardworking, well-informed and experienced. Geneseo is working to instill these qualities in students with a new course offering through the School of Business, INTD 388/MGMT 385: Idea2Venture        

Judith Albers, VanArsdale professor of entrepreneurship, is teaching the class that is the first of its kind at Geneseo. Albers’ position was created by an endowment from Charles L. “Bud” VanArsdale, the purpose of which is to spread entrepreneurship in Geneseo and get students involved in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Albers teaches the Idea2Venture class using a hands-on approach, in which students work to create real start-up companies. Albers said she believes that the best way for students to learn about entrepreneurship is to put it into practice.

Paul Morrell, director of the Small Business Development Center, said he believes the class will effectively supplement students’ college experiences. The entrepreneurship class is unique, he said, because it allows students to “explore their creative instinct in cultivating an idea.”

Albers said she gathered business ideas from students, faculty, staff and the community in fall 2013, and the diversity of interests at Geneseo produced a medley of ideas. From the responses, she identified nine suitable business ideas.

Students registered for the course at the end of the fall semester, with only juniors and seniors allowed to sign up. Students who were not part of the business school were required to get the professor’s approval in order to enroll, with 30 students enrolled in total.

Prior to the start of the semester in January, Albers held a two-and-a-half-day workshop for students in preparation for the course, attended by mentors with experience in entrepreneurship. Those present created preliminary commercialization plans for the previously determined business ideas.

Albers said that, since the beginning of the semester, the class has been carefully working through the rough plans from the workshop. The group’s goal is to create a complete investor presentation and business plan by the end of the semester. The students will present these plans to a larger panel that will determine whether the plan should be developed into a business.

Morrell praised the inclusiveness of the class’ agenda.

“The step-by-step approach very clearly articulates the path from an idea to the potential commercialization of a viable business,” he said.      

Albers said she is optimistic about the potential of the class.

“I don't know that all of these businesses will be viable,” she said. “That’s statistically improbable. But some of them will definitely go forward.” She added that, if a business plan shows promise, summer internships could be created to further the project.

“I think [the students] are really digging in,” Albers said. “They’re excited and committed. I’m really pleased with the passion that they’re bringing to building these businesses.”

Students to help revise Code of Conduct

Students will have a hand in revising the Student Code of Conduct this semester. Eight focus groups of student volunteers will be formed, and each will concentrate on improving a specific aspect of the code. Assistant Dean of Students for Student Conduct and Community Standards Tamara Kenney is spearheading the project. In spring 2013, Kenney invited two external auditors to review and assess the current code of conduct.

These auditors identified weaknesses in the current code of conduct and provided suggestions for improvements. Kenney created the focus groups based on the auditors’ appraisal.

“It was a good time for us to step back and see what we like and don’t like about the system and to make some new adjustments,” Kenney said.

Kenney said that the code of conduct is integral to fostering effective relationships between the college and the students.

“As human beings, we all want to know what is expected of us. I truly believe that a code of conduct is a contract between students and the college as to the college’s behavioral expectations,” she said.

Kenney also said she believes that input from students will result in a better-informed code of conduct and that “it is educational in nature.”

Student Association President senior Katie Becker said that a document with power over students should incorporate student input.

“At the end of the day, we’re the ones who sign it,” she said.

“If students have some say in what [the code of conduct] says, I think they will support it as opposed to one that’s just handed down,” Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio said.

Kenney explained that she expects significant changes in the code of conduct to come from this project.

“Something that is severely lacking is just communication with the general population,” she said. She added that she hopes to make the code of conduct more readily accessible and easy to navigate for the average student. She said that, to solve this problem, she hopes to produce a “quick guide” that will allow students to understand the conduct process without having to read the entire thing.

Another goal of the project, according to Kenney, is to make students more comfortable approaching the conduct office for help. She hopes to publicize all of the services that her office provides.

“It’s not just that when you get in trouble, you get an invitation to come in,” she said. The office also provides support for preventing conduct infractions.

Kenney plans to have a focus group examine and amend the training system for residence hall staff so that they can better serve the needs of students. She said that the focus groups will work to improve the system for placing sanctions on students who have violated the code of conduct and develop a system that will keep people from committing further infractions.

Sancilio added that changes will be made to the code of conduct to allow it to represent new laws and mandates that have developed since it was last edited.

Kenney said that each focus group will work together over the course of the semester to produce a final report that dictates its recommendations for changes by June 1.

Students can join a focus group by taking a short survey online or by contacting Kenney. The survey will close on Friday Feb. 7.