SALEM — The Oregon Student Association@@http://www.orstudents.org/@@, a group of over 100 students representing all public colleges in Oregon, lobbied for House Bill 4058 @@http://eouvoice.com/2012/02/09/students-lobbying-for-students/@@in Salem today, pushing for lower textbook prices for both higher education institutions and K-12 schools.
The bill asks for the Higher Education Commission@@http://beta.hec.gov.pk/Pages/HECMain.aspx@@ to study strategies to make recommendations to reduce higher education textbook costs.
OSA is in support of the bill and talked to legislators about the next step. The bill would ask the Joint Boards@@http://www.ous.edu/state_board/jointb@@ to examine cost-saving strategies such as statewide used-book exchanges, instructor-created open-source textbooks, shared online materials and statewide bulk purchasing of textbooks, among others.
A similar bill was proposed in the last session but did not get out of committee because many senators said the fiscal cost of the proposal was too high.
If the bill passes, the new task force will look into partnerships with other state and regional national organizations.
Kerry Snodgrass, ASUO Chief of Staff@@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/executive.php?a=12#toc29@@, has felt the financial burden of textbooks. “Every year I budget 500 dollars for textbooks but have exceeded that every year,” she said. “And I’m not even a math or science major. I’ve spent over 2,000 dollars on textbooks over the four years.”
OSA talked to Rep. Sal Esquivel (R-Medford)@@http://www.leg.state.or.us/esquivel/@@, who represents District 6. He refused to give a definitive answer about how he feels about the textbook financing issue.
Rep. Jean Cowan (D-Newport),@@http://www.leg.state.or.us/cowan/@@ representing District 10, was more supportive of the student advocates, although likewise would not comment specifically on the bill.
“You may not feel like you have a voice sometimes, but it really is important to have your presence here,” she said. “And it’s always educational to come to your capital.”
Cowan has supported OSA issues in the past and said she plans to continue to support student advocacy groups. Textbooks are another issue facing college students today, and many continue to struggle with it.
“For students who are working a job and first generation, it becomes, ‘Am I going to buy this textbook, or am I going to pay rent?’” ASUO Vice President Katie Taylor said@@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/executive.php?a=12#toc28@@. “I don’t think that is a decision they should have to make.”