Students Come Together For Textbooks Hearing
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STUDENTS FIGHT BACK—MASSPIRG Student Chapter Program Director Saffron Zomer with students at a press conference before a committee vote on our textbooks bill. |
On Oct. 2, student leaders from MASSPIRG Student Chapters took to Beacon Hill to speak out in favor of legislation that would lower the cost of textbooks.
More than 50 students—each sporting their school colors—came to the Higher Education Committee’s hearing on the MASSPIRG-backed Affordable Textbooks Bill, which would protect students against unfair practices by the textbook publishing industry that have driven up book prices.
Joining MASSPIRG students were the Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education Committee, representatives from the Massachusetts Teachers Association and faculty unions, college presidents and student government leaders from across the state.
Earlier in the year, MASSPIRG released “Exposing the Textbook Industry,” a report that found that students are spending about $900 on books each year, and that the prices of textbooks have been rising at about four times the rate of inflation over the last decade. The report also documented the industry’s practice of bundling books with additional materials such as CD-ROMs or workbooks, which faculty and students often do not use.
The committee passed the bill a week after the hearing. MASSPIRG students and advocates will continue to work to pass the bill in the full Legislature.
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