It's that time of year again; there's a slight bite to the air. It's time for classes to start, time to trudge through the snow to get to class. There is energy and electricity on campus again, as that biannual ritual we all know and love draws near. That time when we, humble students, must bow to the almighty Tome Of Knowledge and make out annual pilgrimage to the bookstore, that Sacred Hall that houses the Tome of Knowledge.

It's time to buy books.

Yes, buying books hasn't been the same since Penn State sold out to Barnes & Noble.

Have you noticed it too?

I made my pilgrimage the other day. I trudged through snow and arctic temperatures and arrived at a Penn State Bookstore teeming with loyal pilgrims. An attendant offered me a basket, a sacred vessel in which to put my numerous volumes. Within the basket I found a bonus I had not found in years past, a map of the Hall to make my ordeal easier. I braved the swarm of humanity circulating the hallowed stacks and made my way to the French section, and, after trials of snow and crowd, I found that my pilgrimage had been for naught. The volume that I sought was not within the Sacred Hall.

"Excuse me, but do you have the French 352 text?"

"I'll check, but probably not..."

The attendant checks with the Omnipotent CPU and says, "No, see, the way they do it is, we take the upper level Spanish courses and the bookstore in town takes the upper level French Courses."

I stood there, rejected. I had journeyed from afar, crossed vast white wastelands and waded through unplowed campus walkways, risking injury to life and limb, not to mention frostbite, to seek the Tome, and it eluded me. I had nothing to show for my effort but an empty basket.

The oracle had spoken. Instead I sought the almighty Packet.

Again I braved the test of humanity and arrived at the appointed section of the Hallowed Hall. Again, it was for naught. There were no packets to be had, instead I found a sign which read "Due 1/24."

That was enough to make anyone loose faith. Enraged, I handed my basket back to the attendant and left the Sacred Stacks in search of enlightenment.

Why, I asked the Powers-That-Be, must I endure this trial? Why must my professors rearrange their syllabi? For, surely, the Tome is a benevolent volume and would not ask this of its humble followers.

A vision came to me. I saw the Sacred Hall of olde, the Penn State Bookstore on Campus in all of its glory. Oh, Glorious! I saw packets on the first day of class! I saw volumes for every course and subject! It was a time of togetherness, for all of the upper level language Tomes were within the sacred hall. Spanish had laid down with French and all was right with the world.

Then an ugly metamorphasis took place before my eyes. A transformation that scared me right down to the bottom of my wornout boots. The Penn State Bookstore on Campus changed from a lowly non-profit campus bookstore to a mere pawn in the vast pantheon that is Barnes & Noble.

It was the Great Sale.

Barnes & Noble worship the Green one, therefore sources of packet materials must now be contacted for permission to use their work (since it is now being sold for profit). These same sources may ask for royalties for each page printed in a packet. These royalties are then added on to the price of the packet that we poor pilgrims must pay. We, who have already given everything to seek knowledge.

The vision left me with a sense of remorse. Gone are the days when all could be purchased under one roof. Gone are the days of timely, reasonably priced course packets. The almighty buck has reared its ugly head and made its presence known. By dividing course subjects, the Sacred Halls insure the Green one a place in their owners' pockets, and, sadly, not in the tattered purses of poor pilgrims. We who seek the Tome must now make two pilgrimages in order to find all of the volumes required to attain Knowledge. The Green One is more prevalent now than ever.

The Powers-That-Be failed to consider the implications of turning the Sacred Hall over to the Green One. They have forsaken us in our time of need. In this era when Knowledge is more expensive than it ever has been, we must now tithe the Pantheon of Barnes & Noble thanks to the lack of foresight of the Powers-That-Be of Penn State.

Perhaps they were loosing money on the Bookstore. But that is information that is kept from the likes of us. We must, instead rely on heresay and rumors to find the Truth about how much money Penn State really has.

It is a thing to ponder. This is a University, where we come to seek Knowledge. Why is Knowledge being denied us? Why is the institution that preaches Knowledge keeping its faithful pilgrims in the dark? Isn't it our quest for Knowledge that keeps this place running in the first place?

I beg your pardon, I forgot that this is a research institution.

Never mind.