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CALIFORNIA UNIVERSIT Y PA Higher Ed strike
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Flyleaf album review
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End of semester events Men’s basketball
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CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
NOVEMBER 30, 2012
PAGE 11 VOL. 33, NO. 12
Black Friday’s early start draws large crowds
by Jamie
Rider
for the Cal Times
Black Friday. Two words that either strike fear or excitement into the hearts of people across our nation. It’s a day where sleep is pushed aside and the hunt for deals on high definition TVs, blu-ray players and $5 DVDs is the only thing on extreme shopper’s minds. There are those who choose to stay in, shun the idea of the massive event that has taken over retail and don’t play in to the department stores plea for their well-earned money, but enough people do go out that when amassed together problems are sure to arise. One incident comes from Holland Township, Mich. Two women leaving an Old Navy were stopped outside due to shoplifting allegations. When a store detective identified them and confiscated the stolen goods the women fled to their car. As the detective tried to record their license plate number the women opted to try and wrestle the merchandise out of the detective’s hands, at one point pulling a gun. The women escaped but were later caught by police where they were found to have stolen goods from other stores in the area as well. Aurora, Colo. saw the case of a man walking into a local Target late on Friday evening and firing a single shot in to the
ceiling. He was positioned back by the pharmacy but there was no evidence at the time that he actually stole anything. The shot fired went unnoticed by some shoppers who only knew there was a problem when people started running from the store. As of now it’s still unclear if anything was taken and he was last seen running north from the store. No new updates have been made since that evening. A man from Springfield, Mass. is being charged with reckless endangerment of a child after leaving a two year old boy in the car during his shopping trip. The child was his girlfriend’s son and was left in the man’s care while she was at work. The boy was discovered in the parking lot of Kmart locked in a car and asleep. The police forced their way in to the car to retrieve the boy and then went to find the car’s owner. The man was found at his home with the TV he had gone in to purchase. He denies leaving the child in the car and stated that he lost him within the store itself. He did not however report the boy missing to the police at any point in the night. Police also had no idea how the man managed to get from the store to his home with the TV, but were looking in to it. The Department of Children and Families will be deciding if the boy will stay in his mother’s custody. In an act of self preservation, a
man pulled a gun out at a Sears in San Antonio, Texas. While waiting in line to enter the store a shopper tried to jump in line ahead of him. When he spoke out he was punched in the face by the line-jumper. Fearing further assault he pulled out his 9 mm semi-automatic handgun but fired no shots. The linejumper fled and hid behind an appliance and then took off. The man in line eventually lowered the gun realizing the shoppers around him had started to panic. The man was licensed to carry a concealed weapon so police declared he was within his rights to use it as a means of intimidation. The store had only been open for an hour before the incident took place.. In comparison, the events of Black Friday in nearby Uniontown were tame. Wal-Mart started their promotions at the early hour of 8 p.m. Thanksgiving evening. The store was crowded with shoppers, but was manageable to navigate while looking for merchandise. The downside was the wait in line to check out once shoppers were ready to leave. For those with only a few items the half hour to hour long wait was not pleasant. Target opened their doors at 9 p.m. Shoppers were lined up around the building an hour beforehand. Upon entering the line they were handed pamphlets with a map of the store
and links to look at deals on their smart phones. About half an hour before doors opened security from the store were given the task of handing out mini granola bars to everyone in line. It served as a kind gesture for those who opted to stand out in the cold waiting to shop. Target chose to let people in to the store in waves. Twenty or so people were allowed in at time, and this prevented a lot of jumbled shoppers fighting to rush through the store. The checkout lines even managed to move relatively quick as well. The Uniontown Mall allowed shoppers in before midnight so they could line up outside the stores of their choosing. People could be found outside most of major retailers located there. Oddly enough JC Penny’s was one of the very few stores that chose to wait until morning to open. Shoppers had to return at 6 a.m. to take advantage of their deals. Many other stores around town had successful nights as well and no major problems were reported. The only incident noted that night was a wreck located outside of the local Sheetz on Route 40. Neither driver was hurt, but traffic moved slowly for some time delaying drivers in the late night shopping spree. Along with Black Friday comes Cyber Monday, a day for those who choose not to
deal with the messy crowds and long lines. Online shopping is convenient and hassle free so the appeal is great. Stores cash in on an entirely different demographic and have the chance to up sale by offering different options on this day than Black Friday. Adobe Marketing Cloud Analysis predicted that sales this past Monday would spike 18% since last year. Amazon.com was a key destination for shoppers. The site extended the Cyber Monday idea through the week offering new deals hourly every day this week. Black Friday is an accident of history. The term sprung up in the 60s, when many people started taking the Friday after the holiday off because going back to work for one day then having the weekend just seemed silly. The traffic in cities from people traveling and shopping became such a mess that police and taxi drivers started calling it Black Friday. The term stuck. Black Friday has become the tipping point in the Christmas season. While this day is thought to be the biggest shopping day of the year, it’s interesting to note that it’s not. Christmas Eve is actually the biggest shopping day of the holidays. Like college kids scrambling to get a six page paper done the night before, it’s due, shoppers seem to take the same strategy for gift buying.
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