I worry too much about money this time of the year. There are
tuition and housing payments, loads of groceries and school
materials to buy. And then there are textbooks ““ overpriced,
marked up due to “bonus” CDs, study guides I
don’t need and destined a couple months later to be sold back
at shamelessly low prices.
I can’t help but feel cheated. And I’m hardly alone.
In fact, I’m confronting a major problem nationwide. In 2003,
students at UCLA and UC Berkeley typically spent $350 on textbooks
every term, according to a CALPIRG study.
Though all of us here struggle with this common financial
burden, we’re not working together toward improvement. Worst
of all, we’re not taking full advantage of what campus
resources already exist ““ namely bruinwalk.com’s
textbook exchange program and CALPIRG’s advocacy and
organizing, both of which are meant to help us. It’s high
time, and we should all get involved.
Financially strapped students find themselves in quite a bind
because we’re pitted against a powerful competitor.
Publishing companies today dramatically push up textbook prices
using a series of schemes and cheap tricks.
For example, many publishers employ what CALPIRG calls
“bundling.” This is when they bulk up the textbooks
with unnecessary and frivolous supplemental materials, such as CDs,
to justify higher prices. Companies also often publish
“new” editions of textbooks, virtually rendering older
editions useless or inapplicable.
These companies seem to contrive any twist or curve, no matter
how ridiculous, as long as the result is to maximize profits. And
when all is said and done, they profit from about 7 percent of the
total textbook sale after taxes.
That’s not too bad for the companies. But it’s
certainly not what we students bargained for. So politicians such
as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have stepped in. In November 2004,
the governor recently passed Assembly Bill 2477, written by Carol
Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge) and supported by CALPIRG, which
encourages publishers to divide their supplements from their
textbooks and to reveal how different editions of textbooks
actually change in terms of overall content.
While the bill certainly doesn’t fix the problem in one
fell swoop, it heads in the right direction.
But the governor disappointed students, too. Unfortunately, he
vetoed AB 2678, which calls for textbook rental programs on public
university campuses. The program could have saved students the
money they need, and it’s a disgrace that this bill was
neglected.
Overall, the governor is sending a message to California
students that we’re not a significant priority. So it’s
our job, more than anybody else’s, to make sure that our
interests are acknowledged, realized and met.
Two important steps can be taken. First of all, we need to
support alternative means of acquiring books at bruinwalk.com.
Basically, students can search for textbook titles and contact
sellers of these titles through the network, as well as post the
titles of their own textbooks. The Web site’s textbook
exchange program stores about 1,300 books, though it has suffered
complaints regarding lack of online updates. I hope to see a
revival of the Web site via greater student interest.
At UC Irvine, for example, the textbook exchange program is
reportedly well-used and appreciated, according to Trevor Johnston,
CALPIRG textbook campaign coordinator at UCLA and second-year
political science student. But it hasn’t been that popular at
UCLA. Maybe, Johnston said, students at UCLA just needed to hear
about the program.
So, here’s the news ““ the textbook exchange program
is good for you. Use it. Tell your friends about it. End of
story.
But don’t just look for cheaper textbooks. That avoids the
root of the problem. We should all campaign for solid changes
within the publishing sector. Right now, CALPIRG is doing just
that. First off, the group aims to coalesce UCLA faculty to
eventually form a coalition that may boycott certain companies or,
at the very least, agree upon practical changes in policy. Some
changes may include “no-frills” and online
textbooks.
Secondly, Johnston hopes students themselves will work together,
including within the Undergraduate Students Association Council,
the Academic Senate and the Graduate Student Association. This
“momentum,” as Johnston called it, will hopefully build
up to gain support from Chancellor Albert Carnesale and eventually
University of California President Robert Dynes.
“When President Dynes speaks, people listen,”
Johnston said, citing Dynes’ major influence in changing SAT
policy. “We hope he will be compelled to speak about
textbooks.”
The fact is that textbook prices are way too high. But we
can’t just count on the governor or our own litany of
complaints to ease our woes. Enough excuses. It’s up to
students and faculty to join together and actually pressure these
gigantic publishing companies for much needed reforms.
“The only way we will be successful,” Johnston
concludes, “is if we do this in a true grass roots
fashion.”
Fried is a second-year history student. E-mail her at
ifried@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.