Every year the average student spends about $900 on textbooks. We have a right to object. More important than random griping, however, is griping to the right person.
Is the ASU bookstore reaping an unfair profit? Does President Crow stay up late at night developing new ways to ransack our wallets?
The answer to these questions is most definitely no.
If you haven't already heard, the real cost of textbooks comes from the publisher, plain and simple. When they have a captive market (that's us) it is fairly easy for them to manipulate prices. They do this by putting out superfluous new editions and bundling books with unnecessary bells and whistles that make them harder to sell back.
My ECN 421 textbook is a good example of this principle. A brand new eighth edition of "Modern Labor Economics" sells for $134.40 on Amazon.com. However, I found the seventh edition online for just $5.
On the bright side, students are not entirely helpless.
Currently, there are many initiatives circulating through student government that aim to lower these outrageous costs. One Undergraduate Student Government senator has suggested an online book swap, a measure that would facilitate the exchange of cheaper used books among students.
Another senator has proposed a textbook loan program in which students pay to borrow materials from ASU.
These are not the only ideas, either. In the Nursing College, some professors are making a switch from textbooks to informational computer programs. Electronic journals are also becoming increasingly accessible.
Ultimately, all of these options have one thing in common: They marginalize the influence of publishers over ASU's course materials.
Furthermore, these measures will prove much more effective if they work in tandem. Having recently been appointed academic affairs director in student government, my job over the next three months will be to create a commission of students, professors and administrators charged with coordinating these efforts.
It is important not to delude ourselves by thinking that there is a single quick-fix solution.
Reducing textbook prices will require a great deal of effort, as well as a great deal of time. So what can students do until then? That's simple.
First, educate yourself. This problem is a national issue. Go to www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org and see what they have to say. If you want to be a part of this effort or join the list server, e-mail me at jonathan.confer@asu.edu.
Second, spread the word. Next time you hear a student in the ASU bookstore gripe about prices, let them know why their textbooks are so expensive. Furthermore, inform them that it does not have to be this way. Encourage them to join our movement to lower book costs.
Finally, respectfully approach your professors (I'm sending out props to Dr. Kingston for assigning the cheaper seventh edition).
If you don't feel comfortable talking to them directly, however, note your concerns in the course evaluation at the end of the semester. Most professors are truly sympathetic to the financial plight of students on campus, but it's important to remind them just how tough it can be.
In the student government offices we're already working hard to coordinate some of these improvements, but implementing fundamental reform will require that students take the initiative. I am confident that ASU is up to the challenge.
Jonathan is an economics and political science senior. Reach him at jonathan.confer@asu.edu.
