Editor’s note: This Opinion Editorial is part of a series of letters being published by the SGA Executive Board about issues SGA is working on this year.
For (too) many years have we had on this campus a very clear account of monopoly, one that despite having the potential ability to negatively impact all of us students, we have left to consolidate without taking action. This is a call for action.
The campus bookstore exerts near absolute control over book retail on this campus. It manages to do so by conveniently publicizing course book lists only once students have come back from breaks.
A good amount of us, those with no private transportation or an urgent need for our books, are then left with no option but to purchase our texts at the campus bookstore and more often than not at prices that are commonly way above those found elsewhere.
In a conversation with bookstore managerial staff, it was mentioned that this year they were looking to make ALL book lists available online by the end of this month.
Can we rely on this? Your call.
Consider however that not only would such action attempt against their very own financial interest – which they have been dire defenders of in past years when approached about this issue, but because (as mentioned by the bookstore staff) sixty percent of professors had failed to submit their lists by the deadline which was approximately three weeks ago. So clearly, the logical, ideal procedure of things is being corrupted not at one, but various points along the line.
In explorations of alternate solutions to this problematic, the possibility of having professors publish book lists on Moodle was considered. Despite the fact that this initiative would undoubtedly take considerable time, I proceeded to contact the corresponding offices on campus with intention of meeting and getting the ball rolling. Let me say that such attempts were truncated by the lack of response received from such instances.
No measure is taken to ensure that faculty submit course lists on time, whereas there certainly should be. Would faculty similarly go scot-free if they failed to submit grades or lists of courses to be taught? Apparently the might of faculty is held sacrosanct by some on this campus, and mandating professors to publish book lists by a certain date would substantially attempt against it.
However, as I said in the beginning, this is a call for action, not an exposé. In this note, the suggested actions are the following:
If the book lists for your courses have not yet been made public, email your professors and ask for them.
Nag if necessary.
It is your right to know what books you are to purchase as soon as possible so that you get the opportunity of finding the best deal available.
A good number of students already do this but it is certainly far from being ideal as a process. Also, some of us might not have considered this possibility or might not feel comfortable going to such extents.
Given time constraints, this is the best course of action.
In parallel, the call is not to purchase texts or supplies from the bookstore until current circumstances have changed. Let us not forget that as student body we constitute almost the sole target of their business, which entitles us with great power if we come together. If we refuse to play our role in this bilateral economic relationship, be sure that things will soon change.
However worry not, this will not be necessary as we should all be able to access our book lists by January 1 here.
If you would like the full exposé or would like to get involved in future efforts to institutionalize the early release of book lists, please contact me.
They’re not online as of yet. Let’s hope they’ll be up by Jan 1st!