Navigating the UNC Student Stores: Resources, History, and Modern Services

The UNC Student Stores at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill serve as a central hub for students, providing course materials, supplies, and various services. This article explores the resources offered by the UNC Student Stores, delves into its history and connection to Josephus Daniels, and examines its modern operations, including the transition to Barnes & Noble College management.

Resources and Services Offered

The UNC Student Stores aim to enhance the student experience by providing a wide range of resources and services, including:

Course Materials: A complete selection of course materials, discounted 10% off of standard pricing, is available to ensure students have what they need for their classes from day one.
Textbook Rentals: A robust rental selection helps students save money on course materials.
Price Matching: A price-matching program ensures competitive pricing.
School Supplies: General school supplies are readily available for student convenience.
Spirit Wear and Gifts: Students can purchase UNC-themed apparel and gifts.
Electronics: A selection of electronics is available for student needs.
Online Adoption Platform: Faculty can use the Faculty Enlight platform to research and adopt course material options.
Open Educational Resources (OER): The stores provide courseware solutions that engage the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) paired with analytics programs to provide a complete course solution.
Coursepacks: The stores offer coursepack creation services, referencing content from multiple sources.

Return and Refund Policies

The UNC Student Stores have specific policies regarding returns and refunds:

Textbooks purchased outside of the First Day by Course program may be returned for full credit within the first days of the fall and spring semesters and within the first three days of the summer I and II sessions.
Opt-out for First Day by Course materials will need to happen by the census date of the semester.
Textbooks for pre-sessions and all other abbreviated sessions are eligible for a refund within the first 72 hours of the time of purchase during the first two days of class.
The original itemized receipt is required for all refunds.
New books must be in the original selling condition to be returned for a full refund.
Electronics must be returned within 14 days of purchase and cannot be opened. If electronics are opened a refund will be refused.
General merchandise can be returned up to 30 days after purchase with a valid sales receipt and all tags attached.

Textbook Buyback Program

The bookstore will buy back books at any time except during the financial aid charge periods. The amount paid will be determined by the national wholesale buying guide and campus needs.

A Historical Perspective: Josephus Daniels and the Student Stores

The Josephus Daniels Student Stores were dedicated on October 6, 1967, in honor of Josephus Daniels, a prominent figure in North Carolina history. To fully understand the context of his name being associated with the Student Stores, it is crucial to explore his life and career.

Josephus Daniels: Early Life and Influences

Josephus Daniels was born into a family that experienced both prominence and hardship. His mother came from a slave-owning southern family but faced financial difficulties after her husband's death. Daniels received his early education at a local one-room private school in Wilson, North Carolina.

A significant influence in his life was Edward Morse Nadal, known as "Cousin Ed," who taught at the summer school Daniels attended. Nadal also provided Daniels with a job at the Wilson pharmacy and supported his future endeavors. However, it is important to note that Nadal was a member and supporter of the Confederate Army and an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. This highlights the prevalence of white supremacy in the South during that era and the potential biases in Daniels' early education.

Josephus Daniels: Career and Accomplishments

Daniels had a distinguished career as a politician and businessman. He served as the Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson and later as the Ambassador to Mexico under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was also the editor of the Raleigh News and Observer and a University of North Carolina Trustee.

During his time as Secretary of the Navy, Daniels famously banned alcohol on Naval Ships. This decision led to the popular myth that the term "cup of Joe" originated from sailors replacing alcohol with coffee. Additionally, Daniels mentored Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy under him.

Josephus Daniels: Connection to White Supremacy

Despite his accomplishments, Josephus Daniels' legacy is also intertwined with the history of white supremacy in North Carolina. As the editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, he played a significant role in the 1898 election, where the Democratic Party regained power from African Americans. Daniels controlled the flow of information to the public, contributing to the disenfranchisement of African American voters for decades to come.

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The Naming of the Student Stores

In 1968, two decades after his death, the Board of Trustees decided to name the new Student Stores building after Josephus Daniels. This decision was made during the same period when the Frank Porter Graham Student Union and the Robert B. House Undergraduate Library were being constructed.

Modernization and Privatization

Since its construction in the late 1960s, the Josephus Daniels Student Stores remained mostly unchanged until recent years. The building's facade reflects the modern style of the era, similar to the Student Union and Undergraduate Library. The Student Stores serve as a vital link between the center of campus and South Road, with thousands of people passing through it each day.

In 2016, a significant change occurred when Student Stores was privatized and taken over by Barnes & Noble College. This decision sparked protests from students and faculty who opposed the privatization.

Student Protests and Social Justice

The privatization of Student Stores coincided with other student movements on campus, including the campaign to rename Saunders Hall, which was named after a prominent leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Students also protested against the Silent Sam monument, which commemorated Confederate soldiers.

While the protests against the privatization of Student Stores did not directly address Josephus Daniels' biography or his role in the 1898 election, these movements shared common themes of equality, access, and challenging university decisions.

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In response to the campus uprising about Saunders Hall, The Board of Trustees renamed the building Carolina Hall and placed a 16-year ban on changing building names so even if students were to rise again, there is a systemic barrier to making a change.

Barnes & Noble College: Current Operations

Currently, Barnes & Noble College manages the UNC Student Stores. BNED (Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.) and its subsidiaries, including Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, and MBS Textbook Exchange, LLC, collect, use, and disclose personal information through various channels, including online platforms, in-store interactions, customer service channels, and other online and offline interactions.

Information Collection and Use

BNED collects several types of information:

Information You Provide: Registration with BNED is optional, but certain features of the Services may require an account. Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their access information.
Information Collected Automatically.
Information From External Sources: BNED may collect personal information from external sources, including friends, vendors, customers, educational institutions, advertising networks, publicly available information, and affiliates.

This information is used for various purposes, including:

Protecting the rights, property, life, health, security, and safety of BNED, its Services, its users, or any other party.
Business-to-business interactions with customers and Vendors.
Advertising, including interest-based advertising and retargeting.
Analytics to analyze performance and deliver Services and advertising.

Data Privacy and Security

BNED takes steps to help protect personal information through administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. Access to personal information is limited to employees and authorized parties who need to access it to operate, develop, or improve the Services.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The California Consumer Privacy Act Policy and Notice at Collection describe how BNED collects and uses personal information and the rights provided to California residents under the CCPA.

BNED collects categories of personal information about California residents as indicated in the Notice.
Personal information is retained only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, satisfy legal obligations, or resolve disputes.
California residents have the right to request the deletion of their personal information, correct inaccurate information, and limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information.
BNED does not share personal information with third parties or affiliates for their own direct marketing purposes.

Privacy Laws

BNED complies with applicable Privacy Laws and provides users with the right to opt-out of the "sale" of personal information, which may overlap with the right to opt out of Targeted Advertising. Users also have the right to opt out of the processing of personal information for profiling purposes.

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