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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Sarah Blugis: Textbook debacle strains GW’s relationship with students

Sophie McTear | Design Editor
Sophie McTear | Design Editor

Media Credit: Sophie McTear | Design Editor

Sometimes, going to GW can feel like being in a long-term relationship. We deliberated before we went Facebook-official, we now spend a lot of time together and the relationship has its ups and downs. There are moments when we lie to each other and have disagreements, but we’ve always pulled through.

Lately, though, students on this rollercoaster of a partnership with the University have been getting some mixed signals. GW was recently caught trying to add to our already heavy financial burden – a sure sign the honeymoon phase is over.

GW urged professors this fall to keep cheaper online textbook resources like Amazon and Chegg off their syllabi. Thankfully, the faculty took our side, and the University backtracked on the mandate.

Of course, if most universities had their way, the campus bookstore would be a student’s go-to source for textbooks. The Wall Street Journal reported just last week that the $7 billion textbook industry is taking a hit because more students are purchasing cheaper books from third parties. This makes sense, since buying from GW’s textbook provider, Follett Higher Education Group, seems ridiculous when we have less-expensive alternatives.

Media Credit: Hatchet File Photo
Sarah Blugis

It’s hypocritical for the University to tell students that affordability is a top priority when it goes behind closed doors to make paying for an education more difficult.

Students are in a relationship with GW, not a marriage. What is ours is not theirs, and students shouldn’t be a quick source of cash if the University bookstore underperforms.

How the University treats us now will impact how we look back on our years here. Students are already reluctant to donate to the school after they graduate: GW’s alumni giving rate is about 10 percent, trailing behind competitor schools. If the University wants to boost this number, it should do its best to ease the financial pressure we feel during our time on campus.

Holding a grudge over textbooks might seem trivial. But after tuition and room and board, textbooks are one of the priciest expenses that students have to worry about every semester. Humanities majors like myself have it better than most science or business majors, who can pay more than $100 for specialized textbooks. Even so, I’ve watched my own savings account dwindle when it comes time to purchase or rent books.

The ability to buy textbooks on sites like Amazon or Chegg is important to many students, myself included. GW should look at it as a compromise: We voluntarily pay high tuition and accept the high rates for housing. In return, the least the University can do is respect our choice to buy used textbooks elsewhere.

Though the textbook debacle isn’t necessarily enough to make students break up with GW, it’s certainly a cause for concern – especially when our school consistently touts its efforts to make itself affordable. Over 60 percent of this year’s freshman class is receiving some type of financial aid, and we all benefit from the promise of a fixed tuition rate.

I know many, including me, couldn’t be here without the financial aid measures GW takes. But receiving some assistance doesn’t necessarily mean our wallets are full and waiting to be opened for other expenses. In some cases, parents too feel the strain, and every penny we spend just adds to the financial pressure we’ll have down the road when we need to pay back student loans.

As students, we’ve already made the commitment. We love GW and know it better than anyone. But just like two people who have settled into a relationship, the mask is off, and the University is showing its true colors. Now it’s time for our school to make the same commitment to us that we made to it.

It’s not us, GW. It’s you.

Sarah Blugis, a junior majoring in political communication, is The Hatchet’s contributing opinions editor.

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