University textbooks, the overlooked scam

Every year, students from all academic fields flock to the cash cow known as the York University Bookstore. Like cattle, they walk single file into the basement of this store, where rows upon rows of textbooks are laid out, organized, and then sold to York’s student population – for a fair price of course.
Many of these textbooks, which are handpicked by your professors are sequels and updated versions of previously issued textbooks. Edits are made, page numbers, and tables of contents are altered, and minor updates are made to improve your learning experience.
Unfortunately, these updates, and the sales of textbooks in general, are a complete scam. When you walk out of that bookstore with your $500 – $700 bill, where exactly does your hard earned money go? According to the York Bookstore’s website, the bookstore is owned and operated by the school itself. If they make any money, the proceeds go back into the school for student and academic programs. But don’t worry — the bookstore knows the financial struggles of a university student and is willing to help you out. You can sell back your old textbooks for $5 each. That’ll help in the long run of course: you can go get yourself a coffee, perhaps pay for some parking on campus.
You might notice that some of your textbooks are actually written by the professor teaching your course. Others are written by their colleagues. That’s oddly convenient. It’s a complete coincidence, right?
And course kits, don’t get me started on course kits. Those 95-dollar folders of journal articles, short stories, and poems? Well, the school has taken it upon itself to put them all together for you, complete with binding and a title page. While you can find these individual pieces of work online for free, magically, together they cost money. How about that?
While students have a million things to complain and be concerned about, not a single student is willing to protest against one of the biggest mockeries of us all. We’re being robbed blind, yet nobody is really upset about it.
So the next time you sigh and shake your head when your professor tells you that you absolutely need Herrick’s newest book on rhetoric, consider taking a look at the previous version. It’s $50 cheaper, and with a few paragraphs switched around, it just might work for you.
Michael Burton
Executive Editor(Online)