In an effort to help students become more connected to their childhoods, UCCS hosted the Scholastic Book Fair the week of March 31. Students had the opportunity to come by and use their lunch money to buy paperback books and erasers that smudge.
Sophomore English major Paige McFold and junior business major Irene Wright sponsored the fair through their student initiative, “Bringing Back the Brilliancy of Books.” Since the Kraemer Family Library was recently renovated into one giant book, the fair was held at the Campus Store.
McFold and Wright spoke to a crowd of interested students at the beginning of the fair on Monday. “We’re so excited to have you here, spending your lunch money and helping us bring back the magic of books,” Wright said. “The ones we have to read for class these days can get so boring.”
One student, alleged to be Scribe reporter Ellie Myers, protested the book fair, screaming, “But Penguin Classics ARE magical, Irene!” before being escorted out the back doors to the catacombs under University Center.
Sociology major Dusty Jaquet was very excited for the fair but only spoke in an inside voice. Jaquet, being the line leader, was responsible for the quietness of their classmates. “I’m just so excited to relive my childhood,” Jaquet said as they stood in line with 22 adults of varying ages in an orderly fashion.
Students could peruse the shelves of the Campus Store, whose UCCS merch was hastily pushed aside in favor of cheap products wrapped in plastic. Flashlights, X-ray glasses, erasers and green dragon pens whose eyes pop out when you squeeze them were popular buys.
“My phone bill is getting really annoying to have to pay each month,” senior English major Brooke Lovett said. “That’s why I bought this smartphone-shaped eraser. It’s much more compact, and it can help me when I’m doing my homework.”
Junior computer science major Ree Ding preferred the novelty pens over her regular ones she used for classwork. “I can’t wait to write all my secret notes to my crush in this invisible ink. The pen comes with a special light so you can read the message, too,” she said.
Not only were the novelty items popular — books flew off the shelves. Many students were drawn to classic titles from their childhood, such as “Wings of Fire,” “Captain Underpants,” “The Puppy Place,” “Geronimo Stilton” and “The Magic Tree House.”
“I remember reading this before I knew what a subpoena was. It takes me back to simpler times,” criminal justice major Foine Print said in reference to “Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy.” After he purchased the book, Print sighed and headed back to class.
One person was seen asking for other students’ lunch money at Cafe 65, because they needed 25 more cents to buy “a fuzzy notebook with a lock on it.” Another student told their friend they would pay them back after they purchased their “shrink-wrapped book that came with a key necklace.”
In its first day, the Scholastic Book Fair generated $500 in profit. McFold called it “a great start,” but said that it cost more than that to convince Scholastic to waste its time in a school so deeply entrenched in Penguin Random House and HarperCollins.
Despite the estimation that they would never break even, Wright was excited for the students to experience a blast from the past. “It captures that elementary school setup that we want to copy,” Wright said. “Paige and I are so excited to bring that magic back to the lives of our miserable, depressed student body. This fair helps us lift their spirits out of the catacombs and into the heavens.”
The book fair will run through Friday, April 4, at which point it will be packed up as quickly as it came and never return.
Editor’s Note: Scribble is the satirical section of the Scribe.
Photo courtesy of Athlos Academy.