The Student Government Association at Cleveland State plans to demand affordable textbooks for future semesters to lessen the financial burden on students. The SGA plans to submit its proposal to the Faculty Senate in March.

Samira Xhaeferi, vice president of SGA said it was taking the the issue to the Senate because the choice of textbooks is in the hands of faculty, not the administration.

“When it comes to textbooks and access codes, the administration cannot really do anything about the prices, but the faculty can,” said Xhaeferi. “They have to choose the most appropriate, affordable and accessible textbooks for their students.” 

Xhaeferi and the rest of SGA created an online survey for students to take part in their efforts to make textbooks more affordable. 

The survey, which is here, allows students to explain how much they are paying each semester on books and whether they are informed about free online supplements. Students may also leave comments at the end of the survey if they have any additional information to share. 

Of the 20 students The Stater asked about the issue, all agreed with SGA’s proposal, but only five knew about the survey. 

Mariam Hammoud is one of many students who spend their own money on textbooks each semester. Hammoud, a fourth year student majoring in Psychology, pays for her textbooks out-of-pocket.

“I spend at least $250 on textbooks, with my own money, every semester,” said Hammoud. “It’s stressful trying to budget my everyday life when I have to factor in textbook costs that are thrown at me each semester.”

When asked whether she has heard of supplementary materials for classes, she said she has, but believes her professors haven’t attempted to use them. 

“I noticed that CSU’s library has a lot of different options for e-books that go along with courses that no one is really using,” said Hammoud.

Like Hammoud, the others found textbook prices to be a stressor in their day-to-day lives as college students. They said they supported SGA’s demands and hoped to see a change in what books faculty chose for their upcoming classes. 

The students and SGA are hoping that the survey’s results will persuade the faculty to be more understanding. 

SGA said it plans to present the survey findings to the Faculty Senate in one of the two March meetings.