Students report spending an average of $667 on course materials in the past 12 months, reported a study done by Student Watch 2010. However, Salve Regina University students now have a way to save half of this money by renting books.

Salve Regina Bookstore will be using Rent-A-Text.

Leila de Bruyne sits at her glass desk at her Thames Street office, surrounded by photos of African children, multiple Mac computers, and two clocks on the wall, one showing the time in Newport and the other showing the time in Nairobi, Kenya. On the right side of the desk rests a half-finished cup of tea and an enormous Poland Spring water bottle.

It’s 11:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and the sidewalk outside of Lupo’s in Providence, R.I. is crowded with fans of Artist vs. Poet listening to acoustic songs performed by a few of its band members. After their performance with We The Kings and The Maine, Artist vs.

For the band, The Maine, whose breakout debut album, “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” sold over 100,000 copies since its release in 2008, the year 2010 is a year of fresh starts-a new record label, new album and a headlining summer tour.

This year, the band signed with Action Theory Records, a subset of the major label, Warner Brothers.

Newport-Matt Manchester sits behind the register, reading the newspaper, looking forward to the next person that comes in for a look. Ethnic Concepts, located on Broadway in Newport, R.I., features merchandise quite different than your regular shop. Originally opened up as a tobacco/smoke accessories store, Ethnic Concepts has expanded its range of business throughout the years.