Students purchasing their new textbooks and school supplies from the campus bookstore this semester will notice that half of the store’s space is currently blocked off for construction.

Rows upon rows of eclectic books line the shelves of the Loop’s Subterranean Books. As the only independent bookstore on the street, Subterranean Books provides a welcome oasis from the surrounding bustling restaurants and shops.

Tina Butler, the cashier supervisor at the Washington University Danforth Campus Bookstore and one of the longest-serving members of the Wash. U. community, talked to Student Life about love and humanity, emphasizing what it means to be true to yourself and never give up. Student Life: What do you enjoy most about your hometown (St. Louis)?

Though buying books for a new semester still means lugging around a heavy basket in the basement of Mallinckrodt, the load is easier on some students’ wallets this year thanks to a new program that gives students the option of renting their textbooks instead of buying them.

Although the lunchtime crowds have moved to the Danforth University Center and plans for renovation have been delayed, Mallinckrodt Center still plays a major function in programming by Washington University’s student groups.

In response to growing concerns about high textbook prices, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt passed a bill that will require textbook manufacturers to be more transparent in their pricing. The bill, passed on Jun. 25, goes into effect on Aug. 28 and will force textbook manufacturers to publish precisely what information has been changed between revisions [...]