The Leung’s White Crane Lion dance troop performs for an enthusiastic crowd on Webster Streetin downtown Oakland.

TTaarraa NNeellssoonnASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

Hipsters took to the openwaters Sunday at the fourth annualRadio Regatta on Lake Merritt.

The event was hosted byOaklandish, a non-profit foundedin 2000 that is well known in thearea for putting on creative eventsand artistic fundraisers that capturethe unique eclectic charm of thecity.

The event, lining the docks ofthe Lake Merritt Sail Boat House,featured free gondola rides andhalf-price boat rentals, along withfood and beer for those not ready totest their sea legs. Many alsobrought their radios along in orderto enjoy — either out on their boatsor picnicking in neighboring areas— the live Micro FM broadcastbeing spun by local DJs.

Oakland resident SusanahCooper, 23, brought friends fromout of town to the regatta and saidshe always looks forward to thenon-profit’s quirky happenings.

“San Fran is the box andOakland likes being on the outside,and we have sun here so we alsoget to actually do it outside,” saidCooper.

Outlandish, whose Mobile Rigis a fixture at the Lake MerrittFarmer’s Market, designs and sellsT-shirts, mostly of their well-known logo depicting a large treewith roots sprawling in all direc-tions, as well as other Oaklandthemed apparel and stickers.

Each year the non-profit handsout Outlandish Innovator awards togroups that give back via imagina-tive means. Recent winners includethe Kung Fu Grocery, Bay AreaGirls Rock Camp and Youth SpiritArtwork.

However not all attendees weredazzled by the glittering lake andthe cool crowd lounging about thedocks. A little girl named Emilyobserved, pointing to a dancingcouple in matching horn rim raybans waiting to board the Gondolawith radio in tow, “Look, Theirmusic is gonna break! You can’tdance on boats.”

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More photos! www.flickr.com/photos/thecampanil

Discover creative solutions to high priced textbooksNew classes inevitably bring

new expenses, and soon studentswill begin to shuffle into the Millsbookstore with their syllabi inhand, hopeful there are still someused copies left of the books theyneed.

The high price of textbooks hasbecome the norm at colleges acrossthe nation with individual titlescosting as much as $200 new.

The New York Times reportsthat students now spend an averageof $700 to $1,100 a year on text-books, leaving some studentsstruggling to afford them.

Frustrated by the lack ofresources for low-income studentswhile completing her undergradu-

ate education at Mills, MicalAsefaw, who has since continuedon to Mills’ MBA graduate pro-gram, took a stand.

Asefaw decided to start a clubcalled Infinite Potential last semes-ter to address the academic, socialand financial challenges that manyMills students face.

Among Infinite Potential’smany programs is a book lendinglibrary, which rents out donatedtextbooks to the students that needthem free of charge.

To Asefaw, the program is apractical application of what shelearned as an undergraduate busi-ness economics major, and is high-ly rooted in her own financialstruggles. The high price of text-books has been a financial hurdlefor her, one that has even jeopard-

ized her education. “I would think ‘wow, I don’t

even know if I can stay in school.’But I would get in survivor mode,”she said. “I would ask people formoney [for books] and that wasreally hard so I didn’t want that forother people.”

Infinite Potential’s book lend-ing program is only one semesterold, but has so far helped six stu-dents save about $1000.

The program relies exclusivelyon book donations from other stu-dents, and Asefaw said she hasbeen delighted at the level of gen-erosity that many Mills studentshave. “I want to create a culturewhere students rely on students,”she said.

“Its heart wrenching… to knowthat the student sitting next to you,

in spite of how happy she is, isstruggling to stay in that seat.”

Aside from Infinite Potential,students who have a hard time pay-ing for textbooks can also rentthem from Chegg.com.

The price varies depending onthe book and the rental duration,but the majority of textbooks canbe rented for $9.99 per semester.

Once the rental period is over,students print a prepaid label andmail the textbook back toChegg.com for free.

The eco-friendly business alsoplants a tree for every textbookthey rent out and, according to theirwebsite, they have planted 750acres of trees so far.

According to the New York Times,Chegg.com’s system might soonbecome standard at college book-

stores. Follett Higher EducationGroup, which operates the MillsCollege bookstore, is piloting arental program this semester at adozen locations, including CaliforniaState University in Sacramento.Depending on the success of thepilot, Follett’s rental program mayexpand to its other locations.

Even better than rentals, Millsstudent Gigi Gamble suggested, iswhen professors do not require anybooks at all.

“The glory of it all is whenteachers have everything on e-reserves, to be printed or checkedout,” Gamble said.

“God bless all professors whocan and do rely on the Mills libraryfor all their reading!”

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Radio Regattarocks the

boathouse

Majestic red dragons and whitemetallic Lions danced and leapttheir way down Webster Street indowntown Oakland Aug. 22 and23, as drums kept the beat and chil-dren clapped along.

The traditional white crane liondance, which involves martialartists performing acrobatic featsand graceful high jumps inside aoversized lions head, was part ofthe 22nd Annual OaklandChinatown Streetfest, celebratingthe year of the Ox.

The festival, which spannedeight blocks, was founded in 1988as a way to reach out to the localcommunity and showcase thearea’s vibrancy and diversity.

“I never come down toChinatown,” said first-timeattendee Deborlee Watson, 25, whobrought her dog Milo along for fes-tivities on Saturday.

“This place has got lots of ener-gy, but Milo doesn’t like the drag-ons at all.”

The streetfest featured smallrides, bounces houses and boothswhere children received hands-onart instruction and local vendorsbrought their wares, outside theirstore fronts and onto the streets todisplay.

Visitors also enjoyed a varietyof performances, spanning all con-tinents, ranging from Taiko Drumdemonstrations, Tahitian and Latindancing, and a second stage wherefamilies let loose to the ska stylingsof Rock Steady, a No DoubtTribute band.

The award winning Leung’sWhite Crane Lion dance troop alsoperformed to large crowds severaltimes throughout the day.

The festival is put on every yearby the Chinatown Chamber ofCommerce, since it draws a crowdof several thousand to businesses inthe area.

RRaasshhiiddaa HHaarrmmoonnFEATURES EDITOR

Two girls twirl in a giant tea cup at the annual Oakland Chinatown Streetfest, which included rides, crafts, food and a parade.

TTaarraa NNeellssoonnAssistant Features Editor

TARA NELSON

Crowds celebrate multiple cultures and traditions in annual downtown festival