It happens to everyone: You go to your first class of the semester and the Professor, who failed to send out her syllabus ahead of time, assigns reading from an over-the-top expensive textbook. If you want to complete the assignment, your only option is to buy the book from the bookstore.

Last semester, no lie, I found a book that was listed in the bookstore for over $100, for $35 on amazon. As a senior who has frequently faced this dilemma, I had no problem skipping the readings until my cheap copy came in the mail.

But it seems a little ridiculous that we should even have to choose between saving money or completing our homework on time; especially since every GW Professor I have ever had thus far has been highly proficient with Blackboard and email.

It's time that the University make it mandatory that Professors make their reading lists available to students AT LEAST two weeks before the first week of classes. Not everyone can afford to purchase books from the Bookstore. And unless the bookstore is willing to be more reasonable with their prices (which is a whole spearate issue), students should be provided with time to find their books online.

If you're sick of missing assignments at the beginning of the semester because you're waiting for books you ordered to come in, sign the petition:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=rbgW9IkpmnFvtaIZ1ZxfhkA

and tell GW Professors and administration that they can help take some of the financial pressure off with this small change.

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It happens to everyone: You go to your first class of the semester and the Professor, who failed to send out her syllabus ahead of time, assigns reading from an over-the-top expensive textbook. If you want to complete the assignment, your only option is to buy the book from the bookstore.

Last semester, no lie, I found a book that was listed in the bookstore for over $100, for $35 on amazon. As a senior who has frequently faced this dilemma, I had no problem skipping the readings until my... (read more)