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V O I C E
Ser v i ng t he st udents of t he Un iversit y of Hawa i ‘ i at M ā noa si nce 1922
Green living gets fun Features 4
Bohemian to business A changing campus life Opinions 7
W E DN E S DAY, DE C . 8 to S U N DAY, DE C . 12 , 2 010
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Volu me 105 Issue 55
Federal textbook law aims to combat inflation DANIEL JACKSON Staff Reporter
SAT U R DAY, D E C . 4 A graduate student reported being robbed of her backpack, containing items valued at $280, at the parking lot fronting Newman Center while waiting for a Campus Security transport. She stated that a man approached her, asked for a light, grabbed her backpack and ran. A Campus Security officer on routine patrol observed two suspicious individuals riding a mo-ped near the Hale Wainani mo-ped lot. He tracked them to Hale Aloha Lehua and, after noticing that the mo-ped had no keys in the ignition, stopped them for questioning. A DMV check revealed that the mo-ped had been reported stolen, and the individual operating the mo-ped was arrested. Engineering student Chelsea Lau buys textbooks at the UH bookstore during the Spring 2010 semester.
F R I DAY, D E C . 3 A female Hale Noelani resident reported that her 2010 blue Sanyang mo-ped was stolen from the Hale Noelani mo-ped rack. She had secured the mo-ped with a heavy chain through the back wheel, but had not secured the chain and wheel to anything stationary. A faculty member at the Financial Management Office reported that someone had stolen the crankcase cover to a mo-ped she had borrowed from a friend and that the mo-ped would no longer start.
W E D N E S DAY, D E C . 1 A student reported the theft of a MacBook valued at $1,000 from a Hale Noelani dorm room. T U E S DAY, N OV. 30 A student reported the theft of a bicycle from the Hale Wainani bike racks.
JOEL KUTAKA KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
DANIEL JACKSON Staff Reporter In the last 12 months, the average full-time college student spent $693 on textbooks, according to the National Association of College Stores (NACS), and that fi gure is quickly rising. Textbooks prices are rising at four times the rate of inflation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and students are hoping that a new federal law designed to increase the availability of information about textbook options and pricing will provide relief. “I think it’s a business venture. I think they’re exorbitantly priced, and I think the school’s in cahoots with whatever various man-
ufacturers, so there’s a whole business aspect I’d like to protest,” said Muyi Deen, a junior at UH Mānoa, echoing the sentiments of many students who feel that the prices of textbooks have exceeded any reasonable pricing strictly for the fact that students have little option but to purchase the required textbooks. “Durbin’s College Textbook Affordability Act” named after Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act enacted in 2008 that was re-authorized and became effective July 1, 2010. The law was created with the stated purpose of ensuring “that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and enhancing transparency and disclo-
sure with respect to the selection, purchase, sale, and use of course materials.” The new law will require that teachers and students are provided textbook prices in advance, but also includes provisions that encourage colleges to provide information about the availability of any alternative format in which a text may be available, such as e-books or textbook rentals. The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Bookstore website shows that some of this information is already available. The homepage provides information on textbooks for a number of courses, including the prices both new and used. There is also information about the school’s buy-back program, digital textbooks and a “new” textbook rental link. While information may only be available for a select number of courses so far, this may be explained by the fact that the new law is not required to be implemented until 2013, and many teachers have yet to be informed. “This is the fi rst I’m hearing about it,” said a surprised Rajam Raghunathan, an assistant professor of philosophy at UH Mānoa. She said that while she does consider prices when assigning textbooks and supports the law because it would provide students more time and options for obtaining material, she worries that an overemphasis on textbook costs may send students the wrong message. “It’s like re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. If you’re going into debt, you’re going into debt. Trying to cut corners with a textbook here, a textbook there, can actually go against getting a good education in the end,” she said. She was also concerned that having to determine the book list too far in advance could limit options for courses in certain disciplines that rely on new constructive work. Some students don’t see textbooks as quite so important. “For the most part, they’re not necessary,” said Muyi Deen, claiming that he tends to not buy textbooks at all. “For the most part, I feel that textbooks are about 5 to 10 percent of importance in passing or doing well in a class. A lot of times textbooks are necessary, and a lot of times textbooks are entirely unnecessary. It has to be a necessary book if I’m going to buy it at all, and if it’s necessary, I’ll fi nd See Textbook costs, next page