Word On The Quad

Word on the Quad — The cost of required reading

Farhad Golriz, Luke Wrin Piper, and Jalaya Briggs

November 4, 2019

Photo by Scott Barkley, courtesy of Flickr

We visited Berkeley City College campus to ask students the following questions:

-What’s the most expensive textbook you’ve ever had to buy?

-What’s the most you’ve spent on textbooks in one semester?

-Have you ever been required to buy a book your professor authored?

Simone Mitchell — Undeclared. Photo by Luke Wrin Piper.

“My medical terminology textbook cost $186 exactly. The most in one semester was $250.”

Ambrood Korin — Electrical Engineering. Photo by Luke Wrin Piper.

“The Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Edition 8 cost $284. My Chemistry 1A lab manual was written by the professor for the class and we were required to buy it.”

Miguel Martinez — Undeclared. Photo by Luke Wrin Piper.

“$180 for a calculus textbook. $240 overall including my Intro to Visual Culture book.”

Jayla Goler — Political Science. Photo by Luke Wrin Piper.

“$70 for an economics book and $100 total.”

Irani Mendez — Physics. Photo by Luke Wrin Piper.

“I spent $200 overall and $150 on a textbook for physics.”

About the Contributors

Farhad Golriz, Staff Writer

Farhad Golriz is an Iranian-American that was raised in Berkeley. He is interested in politics and foreign affairs – in particular, the Middle East. Farhad enjoys writing about events that have happened in other parts of the world and his goal is to be able to speak up for those who feel their voices are not being heard. Farhad’s goal is to one day become a Journalist and he is very honored to be a staff writer for The Citizen at Laney College.

Luke Wrin Piper, Consulting Editor

Luke Wrin Piper began writing for The Citizen in 2019. Starting at the sports desk, his focus has expanded into politics, art, activism, crime and all the ways they intersect here in the 510. The people and culture of the East Bay have never failed to fascinate him and he hopes to bottle that local lightning for The Citizen. He thinks there’s never been a better time to be alive, especially for journalists.

Jalaya Briggs, Staff Writer