National Opinion

As students, we know from experience that the cost of textbooks is outrageous. Last year, a study confirmed our suspicions when it showed that textbooks are 400 percent more expensive now than they were 10 years ago. To counter these skyrocketing costs, Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., has proposed a $1,000 tax break for college students. While we are grateful to Sen. Schumer, we must also point out that exorbitant textbook prices can be deterred by vigilant professors.

Textbook companies rip students off by publishing nearly identical books each year and labeling them as new editions. Not only are new editions more expensive, but bookstores won’t buy back old editions if no one is using them anymore. To save us some cash, professors could simply assign the same edition of a textbook each year—allowing us to save money when we buy the book, and recoup some of our losses when we sell it back.

Putting readings online and utilizing Blackboard can also cut costs for students. Often, we find ourselves buying entire books, only to read a section or two. Putting shorter readings online would save us the cost of purchasing unnecessary material.

Using photocopied course packets instead of numerous books is also a reasonable way to offer students diverse readings without depleting our checking accounts. Though course packets can run upwards of $40, they are still significantly less expensive than purchasing five or six books.

Finally, the NYU Bookstore has a responsibility to keep textbook costs as low as possible and make every attempt to buy books back from students at reasonable prices. Keeping book prices as low as possible and buy-back prices as high as possible could make a significant dent in the $900 the average student spends per year on textbooks.

Textbook costs pose a serious financial burden for many students. Cutting these costs in any way possible—Schumer’s tax break, a little effort from professors and conscientious bookstore policies—is a crucial step in making higher education affordable for everyone.