By Keturah Jones

Administrators and students at the Pleasant Grove campus are lobbying for a campus bookstore that will meet student’s basic needs.
There is a temporary bookstore, but it is only open four days a week, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., for the first two weeks of each semester. The campus  does have a supply vending machine, but it hasn’t worked since being burglarized almost four months ago.
“I feel that it’s necessary for us to have a bookstore that’s open and stocked with the basic supplies that we need for our classes,” business finance major Yulyanna Silva said. “The machine seems to be not working and is constantly out of order.”
According to Eastfield’s campus police crime log, the bookstore’s supply machine was broken into on July 17 around 6 p.m., although the crime wasn’t reported until six days later. No supplies were taken, only money, but parts were damaged.
Javier Olguin, executive director of the Pleasant Grove campus, said he doesn’t believe the crime was committed by a student or employee.
Erika Spann, manager of the main campus bookstore which oversees the vending machines, is questioning why it took so long for the crime to be reported. She said that the machine has been out of order since the incident.  A part ordered to complete the repair has not yet arrived.
Olguin, however, said the machine has been fixed but says that there are constant breakdowns.
“I would rather just do away with the machine altogether and just have the supplies available to the students through the bookstore,” he said. “It’s an inconvenience to our students to have to drive to the main campus and back to buy a scantron.”
Since the burglary, Spann said she has made an extra effort to be sure scantrons are available at the front desk of the school. Students can purchase them for 35 cents each.
Spann said operating a bookstore is difficult because of a lack of traffic.
“In October 2010 we had a representative at the Pleasant Grove campus bookstore,” she said. “We tried it for a semester and the sales just didn’t generate enough to have it viable to be open at that time. I’m willing to try it again to see if it will work. We are striving for the success of the student.”
A meeting was scheduled Tuesday between campus administrators   from both campuses and local and regional Follett bookstore managers.