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by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Intern News Reporter
A new networking Web site, similar to Facebook and Craigslist, has come to Appalachian State University.
ULoop, a site that allows students to connect with other students from their campus, utilizes an online bulletin board.
Co-Founder of ULoop Ryan MacCarthy said in an ULoop.com video blog, “ULoop is essentially the online marketplace for college students.”
 The website Uloop.com is a new online marketplace and messageboard for students. Special to The Appalachian |
“Students first
learn about ULoop through textbooks. The average cost of a textbook is
$100. The average cost of a used textbook is about $37,” he said.
“That’s about a $65 savings every textbook.”
While
Appalachian still utilizes the textbook rental system, some still feel
the effects of textbook pricing when they are required to buy a book
for a class.
“The
line [at the bookstore] is pretty terrible, but even worse, they jack
prices up, then we don’t get anything back for it when we sell it back,
but then they resale it for double its original price,” sophomore
medical administration major Christopher D. Tennyson said.
An e-mail was sent to Appalachian students at the end of the spring semester discussing ULoop and its benefits.
“I
received a notification in my school e-mail and checked out the link,”
junior English and secondary education major Tiffany A. Lasko said. “I
haven’t heard anything back yet, but I’m just happy to have a way to
tell everyone who can use [my old textbook] that I don’t want it
instead of having it gathering dust under my bed.”
ULoop is available for more than just textbook exchange.
Currently,
744 Appalachian students have utilized this service and posted
apartment listings, roommate searches and events on the ULoop
site.
“Then
they find out, ‘gosh I can find a roommate through this, I could find a
carpool through this’…that’s the problem with Craigslist. These
students don’t have cars, they want to walk through the quad and shake
someone’s hand and get the money, and that’s it,” McCarthy said.
“I like
that it’s like a notice board for happenings that I can see from my
room instead of scanning boards in the Student Union,” Lasko said.
ULoop has potential to become the next popular exchange site, however, some students still think it could use a little work.
“A lot
of people don’t like to buy stuff on the Internet, people aren’t
comfortable with it, it will take a while to build up,” Tennyson said.
Lasko said she would make ULoop more accessible through the school Web site.
“I have
to either find the link myself, or go back into my e-mail to find it.
It’d be much easier if I could find the link in my AppalNET,” she said.
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