The Textbook Rebellion Fights Unfair Prices
A book that costs $200. No it is not a magic book, nor will it produce some kind of dizzying high (unless economics is particularly orgasmic for you). It is the price of an ordinary college textbook. How publishers and colleges can let this kind of unfair pricing happen when students are so hard-up financially is beyond belief. It smacks of contempt for students and the issues they face in this Great Recession of Our Lord. Fear not though. The Textbook Rebellion is here to make change happen. Hooray!
On their website, they point out that that college textbook prices have been steadily increasing at 4x the rate of inflation (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). It is not unusual for a student to spent $1000 per year just on textbooks. It seems to be a stealth tuition fee. Often the books are written by their own professors who they are already paying their tuition fees for. And more criminal still, unnecessary new editions are printed and courses amended to stop students trading old books.
With book prices so high many students simply cannot afford essential materials for their courses, ‘there was always a rush on the library when new coursework was announced’, says Joel a student from Brandise University, ‘if you weren’t quick enough you would have to buy the book and if you couldn’t afford the book, you were pretty screwed’. Unless the situation changes, students will continue to suffer while publishers make huge thrones out of their stacks of money (probably).
The Textbook Rebellion is a campaign that is run to raise awareness of this injustice and put an end to unfair pricing. They are currently touring campuses around the country collecting thousands of signatures in order to end this foul practice.
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