Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Unreasonable cost of textbooks from bookstores
Each semester I cringe at the thought of paying, not only tuition and fees, but also the ridiculously-high price for textbooks. The growing cost of textbooks at the University of Wyoming Bookstore is a problem.
Some people say that the mounting cost of textbooks is due to instructional supplements like CD-ROMs, study guides and websites.
According to mndaily, the average college student dishes out more than $900 a year on textbooks and the cost of textbooks has grown at twice the rate of inflation since the 1980s; a bit more inflation than additional supplements would justify.
There are special circumstances that allow publishers and bookstores to charge more for textbooks. College students are required to buy them. For each course, there is usually a required textbook that, chances are, will be a student’s means of passing the class. So, you pull out your credit card and try not to think about the groceries you will be going without.
When the semester is over, the University of Wyoming Bookstore will buy back your textbooks, but only for a fraction of what you paid. The bookstore then turns around and sells the book again making a second, third or fourth profit on the book.
On top of being required, new editions are printed regularly with minimal changes, zapping any chance students have of getting a penny or two back for the book.
Isn’t college expensive enough? Most college students have growing debt and struggle to pay for necessities like food and rent. The University of Wyoming Bookstore needs to stop taking advantage of their special circumstances and charge students fairly for textbooks as well as buying used books back for a reasonable price. Until then, student should order textbooks from online bookstores like Amazon, Half, Campusbooks, and Cheapbooks to keep the costs of buying textbooks down each semester.
Some people say that the mounting cost of textbooks is due to instructional supplements like CD-ROMs, study guides and websites.
According to mndaily, the average college student dishes out more than $900 a year on textbooks and the cost of textbooks has grown at twice the rate of inflation since the 1980s; a bit more inflation than additional supplements would justify.
There are special circumstances that allow publishers and bookstores to charge more for textbooks. College students are required to buy them. For each course, there is usually a required textbook that, chances are, will be a student’s means of passing the class. So, you pull out your credit card and try not to think about the groceries you will be going without.
When the semester is over, the University of Wyoming Bookstore will buy back your textbooks, but only for a fraction of what you paid. The bookstore then turns around and sells the book again making a second, third or fourth profit on the book.
On top of being required, new editions are printed regularly with minimal changes, zapping any chance students have of getting a penny or two back for the book.
Isn’t college expensive enough? Most college students have growing debt and struggle to pay for necessities like food and rent. The University of Wyoming Bookstore needs to stop taking advantage of their special circumstances and charge students fairly for textbooks as well as buying used books back for a reasonable price. Until then, student should order textbooks from online bookstores like Amazon, Half, Campusbooks, and Cheapbooks to keep the costs of buying textbooks down each semester.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
U.S. presence in Iraq is necessary
In 2003 the U.S. Army invaded Iraq. Now, six years later a new U.S. president has been called upon to unravel the problems of our country. Many people believe the most imperative issue pending is whether or not U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq.
Some people argue that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. More than 4,200 American service men and women have lost their lives in the conflict. The cost of the war is now over $500 billion.
While these arguments are valid, does the president want to bring the Iraq war to U.S. soil?
Many believe that pulling our troops out of Iraq now would only cause terrorists and American-haters to follow and bring the conflict home to the U.S. More Americans, including service men and women, as well as civilians, could be in danger of attack if warfare were brought to the U.S. Many more troops could be killed defending our borders. The cost to repair damage done in our country could be thrown on top of the mounting pile of war expenses.
While the reasons for going to war may not have been legitimate, it is too late to reverse the actions made six years ago. A continued U.S. presence is needed in Iraq until insurgents are overpowered and the democratic government is strongly set. The U.S. needs to finish the job started.
Some people argue that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. More than 4,200 American service men and women have lost their lives in the conflict. The cost of the war is now over $500 billion.
While these arguments are valid, does the president want to bring the Iraq war to U.S. soil?
Many believe that pulling our troops out of Iraq now would only cause terrorists and American-haters to follow and bring the conflict home to the U.S. More Americans, including service men and women, as well as civilians, could be in danger of attack if warfare were brought to the U.S. Many more troops could be killed defending our borders. The cost to repair damage done in our country could be thrown on top of the mounting pile of war expenses.
While the reasons for going to war may not have been legitimate, it is too late to reverse the actions made six years ago. A continued U.S. presence is needed in Iraq until insurgents are overpowered and the democratic government is strongly set. The U.S. needs to finish the job started.
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