Spring Break
Policy slams door at bookstore
Nick Veronin
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News
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The sliding glass door to the San Jose State University Spartan Bookstore on the lower level of the Student Union - a door formerly open to all students - is now closed to all but bookstore employees and students with disabilities, according to Phil Chiaramonte, senior director of retail services for Spartan Shops.
Chiaramonte said the door has been closed to general traffic before and has only been opened to all students in the period since the bookstore's renovation.
That renovation took place in 2000 according to Facilities Development and Operations.
Jesse Champlin, a junior majoring in illustration, expressed frustration when he was denied exit from the bookstore's lower level, forcing him to walk upstairs and back downstairs through the Student Union in order to reach his destination, the Student Union arcade.
Champlin said he was a bit confused when he was unable to use the door he had used on previous occasions.
"I was reading on the door there," Champlin said. "It said, 'exit only,' and then I looked at the letters and it said, 'for employees only.' So … I had to go all the way back up."
Chiaramonte said the door serves students who are unable to use the stairs and would otherwise have to ride a freight elevator to go from floor to floor within the bookstore. He said those students who have such needs may take the elevator in the SU and enter through the lower-level bookstore entrance.
But, he said, restricting use of the door also serves another purpose. It helps control theft.
"It presented and it presents a security problem for the store," Chiaramonte said of the door, which has been closed off since the beginning of this semester.
According to Chiaramonte the bookstore lost $157,000 last year - a figure he attributed to stolen items as well as to bookkeeping errors.
Kori Ray is an SJSU student working on her teaching credential. She said she has been working in the bookstore since 2001.
Chiaramonte said the door has been closed to general traffic before and has only been opened to all students in the period since the bookstore's renovation.
That renovation took place in 2000 according to Facilities Development and Operations.
Jesse Champlin, a junior majoring in illustration, expressed frustration when he was denied exit from the bookstore's lower level, forcing him to walk upstairs and back downstairs through the Student Union in order to reach his destination, the Student Union arcade.
Champlin said he was a bit confused when he was unable to use the door he had used on previous occasions.
"I was reading on the door there," Champlin said. "It said, 'exit only,' and then I looked at the letters and it said, 'for employees only.' So … I had to go all the way back up."
Chiaramonte said the door serves students who are unable to use the stairs and would otherwise have to ride a freight elevator to go from floor to floor within the bookstore. He said those students who have such needs may take the elevator in the SU and enter through the lower-level bookstore entrance.
But, he said, restricting use of the door also serves another purpose. It helps control theft.
"It presented and it presents a security problem for the store," Chiaramonte said of the door, which has been closed off since the beginning of this semester.
According to Chiaramonte the bookstore lost $157,000 last year - a figure he attributed to stolen items as well as to bookkeeping errors.
Kori Ray is an SJSU student working on her teaching credential. She said she has been working in the bookstore since 2001.
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