Bookstore meets all needs

By Stephen Parker
The TC News reporter

The Texarkana College Bookstore is located in the Truman Arnold Student Center and is known to all students, but what may not be common knowledge is the commitment to providing quality supplies with a student’s budget in mind.
Every semester, students scratch their heads walking from the bookstore, jolted by the exorbitant price of a bag of books that weigh less than 20 pounds.
However, there is a school-wide initiative to find the most inexpensive text options.
“We want cheaper books,” says Danny Haflich, bookstore manager.
Whenever possible, classes are encouraged to offer open-source books that are available online free of charge. Also, hardcopy editions of these books are easy to find at your local or internet retail store.
The bookstore is institutionally owned by Texarkana College, and there is no emphasis on profit. Unlike some college bookstores, which are run by private companies that try to gouge their captive student body, every item is priced to sell at the slimmest margins possible.
For example, assistant manager Alisha Parks observed the same TI calculator that is for sale here was priced higher at Wal-Mart.
In addition to snacks and supplies, the bookstore has a wide variety of cloths with the Texarkana College insignia. An array of colors, sizes, and styles anticipates the finickiest of tastes: from freshmen to faculty even stuff for the kiddos. The rotation of fresh stock ensures the latest styles are available, and from time to time, real bargains make their way on to the sales rack. The older an item is the lower the price, sometimes as much as 85 percent off, and once a shirt sold for $3.
In an effort to put some money back in the pockets of students, the bookstore does textbook buy-backs during finals and on the first day class each semester.
All student needs are met by the Texarkana College bookstore. If there is something unavailable that a student would like, request forms are available and will be taken seriously.
It is obvious that great care has gone into the arrangement of and the displays in the bookstore, but this is not what makes it so special: it is the commitment of the staff to the student body.
This commitment is embodied by Haflich who can be heard saying, “Good luck on your test,” every time a student buys a scantron.