Hundreds protest textbook prices

Erika Gonzalez, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 18, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Education

More than a thousand students on the Auraria campus rallied Wednesday in support of legislation and other efforts aimed at reducing textbooks costs.

The rally was organized by student government representatives from Metropolitan State College of Denver, the University of Colorado at Denver and Community College of Denver who want new laws that would force publishers to halt practices that contribute to high prices, such as failing to disclose book prices or edition-change information to faculty members.

"It would be nice to know how long they're keeping a book in circulation, because if the next book is coming out in five months, it's essentially worthless because a student can't sell it back," said Andrew Bateman, Student Government Assembly vice president at the Metro State.

Bateman said students also want publishers to sell unbundled versions of textbooks that don't include CD-ROMs and study guides, which can drive up the price.

The cost of textbooks has risen at four times the rate of inflation over the past decade, according to the Make Textbooks Affordable Campaign, a consortium of student public-interest groups.

Students pay an average of $900 a year for course materials, according to recent data, but Bateman noted that he spent $150 on a psychology book two semesters ago. To fight the problem, the Associated Students of Colorado have held events at campuses across the state.

In addition to a petition drive, students at Auraria wrote letters to legislators describing the financial burdens caused by high- priced textbooks.

Such initiatives have paid off in other states. College students in Washington state successfully lobbied legislators to enact this year a law targeted at keeping textbooks affordable.

But Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, isn't convinced that legislation is the way to solve the problem. He said he worries that publishers may choose to boycott the state if restrictions are put in place. Pommer said he would instead prefer to see more textbooks made available online.

The efforts at Auraria also include reaching out to professors. Bateman said he wants instructors to inform students regularly about the earliest edition of a book they will accept.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News