Buying textbooks in college is a hassle already. Sometimes teachers add to the hassle by assigning textbooks that we don’t even use. I’m sure this is a problem all students can relate to.
I don’t have a problem buying textbooks because I just use my financial aid to get books at the lowest prices. Some people have to take out a loan just to afford the expensive textbooks, while others use savings, whether it’s theirs or their parents. I know buying textbooks is a necessary evil of attending college.
I think that if teachers require students to purchase textbooks, then they should at least make good use of them. And I’m not talking about using three pages either. Using that few number of pages out of a textbook is a waste of my money. I’m sure there are others that will agree with me. The last time I checked, many college students I know are barely making it as it is. I would much rather go to the library and pay 5 cents a page by printing those pages off MyCourses or printing them off using a friend’s printer.
Since I started going to MSU a few years ago, I have had a few teachers that insist we buy the textbook(s) for their classes. No problem there. The problem is that when you buy a textbook for a class and it collects dust, then it was pointless standing in a long line to purchase it. I have overheard a few dozen students, that I still don’t even know, complain about why they had to buy textbooks when they haven’t even opened them up all semester. It’s late October, which means midterms have long been gone and finals are nearby.
Some classes “require” more than one textbook. We know the textbooks are required because they’re on the syllabus that every professor gives out. I would assume that the professors take the time to plan a broad schedule before they make the syllabus available to students. It is even more frustrating when some of the teachers have taught classes more than once.
Many times, the professor stresses the importance of purchasing the required text(s), sometimes too much. But what’s the use of emphasizing buying a $100-200 textbook, sometimes more or less than that, if we don’t even look at Chapter 1.
Even worse, some books come with that annoying shrink wrap or “No Buy Back.” I’m sure every student has bought or knows somebody who bought a book with shrink wrap. This means that when the term is over or close to being over and the shrink wrap has been torn off, students cannot sell those books back to the bookstores.
Not being able to sell even one book back is one of my pet peeves about the whole book-buying process. I have friends that have had some of the same teachers that I did. From them, I can gather the knowledge of whether I really need the textbook or not. Other times, it’s not that easy, because they didn’t have the same teacher I did. I can deal with the bookstore not wanting to take the books back because the professor isn’t requiring the same book edition the next semester. Sometimes it’s better for a professor to teach material when it’s updated. I can’t deal with purchasing textbooks, bringing them to class every class meeting and not using them one bit. Carrying that extra book for some people can be the difference in their backs hurting or not hurting.
What’s the point in making somebody buy that unnecessary book and carrying it amongst other books the student actually uses? The only reason I can come up with is maybe the teachers get a cut of the book sales.
I know that accusation sounds harsh, but I’m not sure if some professors even hate to see students waste money that’s theirs. I’m sure those professors that do this wouldn’t like it if the situation was reversed. I can say that most teachers do actually teach from the textbook they require students buy. But it’s almost always the few that do wrong that get the most attention.
             
Christopher Webb is a junior majoring in general business administration. He can be contacted at [email protected].