For decades, students have struggled financially while questioning whether they can afford the textbooks they need to attend classes. Since 1977, the price of textbooks has risen by 1041%, three times the rate of inflation.
In my experience, one textbook can cost as much as a month’s supply of groceries. College itself is very expensive; there is a risk of putting students in a financially insecure environment to ensure their own future when textbooks are added to the cost.
Thankfully, organizations like the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) are working on ways to create more options for textbook affordability, such as moving toward open access and Open Educational Resources (OER).
Despite the challenging impact of Covid, CALPIRG is still working with the grassroots organization to collect a large number of petition signatures from all campus communities to demonstrate student support.
CALPIRG aims to ensure that UC Regents’ funding goes towards students’ futures and not their debt.
This issue will be heard, and eventually, students do not have to choose between spending money to support themselves or textbooks needed for class.
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