Jessica Voline, a Music Education major, was the next in line to enter the Tartan Bookstore at Sinclair Community College. Like other students Voline had to go through the large white tent and wait her turn. She didn’t know what to make of the tent yet: if she could get into the bookstore right away, she liked it, but if not, she didn’t know why she had to stand outside. Finally she entered Building 7.
“It still looks unbelievable in there,” Voline said upon walking in. “It still looks like the lines in there are just as busy as last year.”
The Tartan Bookstore’s use of a tent to organize incoming students received mixed reviews from the people who stood in its line. Visual Communications major Sade Seidynaly said she didn’t know where to find out how much money was available on her Tartan Card.
“I think last time was better because you checked your money first and then they put you in a certain line,” Seidynaly said.
Mary Baker worked the tent entrance as a security guard on the first day of spring quarter and explained to some students why the tent was in place.
“The only reason we did it this way is because in the winter quarter people complained about being herded up together instead of being glad that you’re not out in the cold,” Baker said to students in line. “To make sure that people were not out in the cold we put you out here in the tent. That way everybody’s not herded up together inside.”
Baker told the Clarion that she received both positive and negative feedback about the tent, but she thought it was run well.
“Everybody’s equal here, whether financial aid, cash, check, credit card, buying a pencil, it all starts here,” Baker said. “Everybody’s on equal footing.”
Student worker Delilah Cohen, who looked up bus pass information in the tent, also said she received mixed feedback from students.
“I get feedback ‘This is ridiculous, I don’t like this,’ I get some feedback that this is a great idea,” Cohen said. “The last two quarters it was crowded in the lobby. It makes better sense to do it this way as a maze through the tent, to go through the bookstore.”
The tent came down on April 1. Tartan Bookstore Manager Ronald Bultema said the tent was originally scheduled to come down on April 2, but it made more sense to keep the area open if the tent wasn’t needed.
“It really was dependent on traffic,” Bultema said.