Ending textbook tyranny

For students of the Social Change class at EWU, doing individual projects was not enough, so they decided to take a stand against the price of textbooks.

"This affects all of us," said Lilly Bourret, a senior in international affairs. "We need to re-examine the way we do textbooks here at Eastern."

The class set up booths outside the PUB May 28. The students and their teacher, Sean Chabot, assistant professor in sociology and justice studies, were there to help answer questions and explain why the issue was so important to them. They also had a petition for students to sign as well as posters throughout the courtyard to help inform students.

"We think that the textbook prices are way too high," sophomore and English major Andrew Britt said. "And it's not just because of the bookstore."

According to an informative sign they put up, publishers have increased textbook prices four times the rate of inflation since 1996. They estimated that at minimum wage, a student would have to work 40 hours in order to cover the cost of textbooks. Another poster said that students spend an average of $900 a year on textbooks, which is 20 percent of tuition at an average university.

Despite the hike in tuition, students are still estimated to pay $345 a quarter for textbooks.

The class's biggest goal was to take the power out of the publishers' hands and give it back to the students by making sure the course materials are posted at least four weeks before classes begin.

They believe that this would require minimal effort from the faculty because the bookstore already requires them to submit course materials about six weeks in advance. The state Legislature also passed the House Bill 1025, which requires the same thing.

By having the books posted that far in advance, students would be able to look for alternative sources to obtain textbooks. The class gave a list of places to do just that online: amazon.com, half.com, dealoz.com, campusbookswap.org, textbooksforfree.org and textbooksrevolution.org.

The class hopes that by promoting more affordable means of gathering textbooks that there will be less of a drop in the number of Eastern students since it will already be harder to afford tuition.

The class also started up a Facebook page, which provides links to affordable books and explains how to rent books for students, as well as links to compare prices.

"We're also promoting textbook swapping," senior sociology major Erica Walker said. "I have had to pay for my own books all through college. It kills me to have to pay $300 on textbooks."

Walker also stated that online textbook shopping saved her a lot of money, though she didn't start doing this until her last year. She hopes that by promoting other means to buy textbooks, students won't have to spend as much as she did.

If the students purchase the books and have trouble selling them back, the class hopes that they will donate them to a campus club, thereby giving the club a chance to get some extra funds.

The Social Change class tried making the event as light as possible. If someone signed the petition, they were given the chance to throw water balloons at the class members who were holding paper plates with pictures of faculty on them. Anyone who wants to show support for the campaign can send an e-mail to the following address: erica110@aol.com.