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One
thousand professors
from over 300 colleges in all 50 states released a statement declaring their preference for high-quality,
affordable textbooks, including open textbooks, over expensive commercial
textbooks. Open textbooks are high quality open-access textbooks reviewed and written by academics that can be used online at no cost and printed for a small cost. Open textbooks are already used at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, like Harvard, Caltech and Yale. Textbooks cost students an average of $900 per year, which is a quarter of tuition at an average four-year public university and nearly three-quarters of tuition at a community college, according to the GAO. Research conducted by The Student PIRGs identifies publisher tactics as the primary cause of escalating prices. Bundling textbooks with unnecessary supplements forces students to purchase items they do not need; unnecessary new editions undermine the used book market; and withholding critical price information keeps faculty in the dark. “As faculty members, our top priority is to choose the textbook that is best for our students. We share concerns about affordability, and face similar frustrations with publisher practices,” said Sandra Schroeder, Chair of the American Federation of Teachers Higher Education Program and Policy Council. “Open textbooks and other affordable options, when appropriate for a course, are a win-win for everyone.” Here are some examples of open textbooks: Introduction to Economic Analysis A First Course in Linear Algebra Introduction to Physical Oceanography Check out a great front-page article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
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COPIRG Student Chapters released the "Campus Credit Card Trap" report, which outlined the unfair marketing practices of the credit industry. Students overwhelmingly support limits on campus credit card marketing, according to the results of the nationwide USPIRG survey of more than 1500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states. The average student receives nearly 5 credit card offers a month and nearly two in three students reported that they had at least one credit card. Fifty-five percent of cardholding students said they used their card for day-to-day expenses. Reflecting escalating college costs, 55 percent said they charge their books and nearly one-quarter said they pay their tuition with a card. On average, freshmen had a balance of $1,301 and seniors had more than twice that, $2,623. Credit cards are marketed to students using free gifts and introductory teaser rates. The use of aggressive marketing techniques obscures students' ability to be scrutinizing consumers when considering a credit card contract. Seventy six percent of students reported stopping at tables on campus to apply for credit cards, and nearly one-third were offered a free gift to sign up. Check out the Washington Post article printed April 13th 2008 Learn more at: truthaboutcredit.org |
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For Immediate Release: New Report Predicts Global Warming Disastrous for National Parks Youth on the Campaign Trail to Ask Presidential Candidates: What’s Your Plan?
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A team of 22 Climate Action volunteers ran a drive to collect comments to Chancellor Bud Peterson, requesting that he sign a committment to make this campus a leader in reducing our impact on global warming. The team gathered more than 700 requests from CU students in less than a week. The effort was part of a nationwide Climate Action week, during which the Campus Climate Challenge worked alongside Program Council to bring a free showing of An Inconvenient Truth to more than two hundred students on this campus. In answer to Al Gore's documentary on global warming, two Climate Action interns constructed a short film, A Convenient Truth, listing easy ways for individuals to reduce their daily impact on global warming. House Majority Leader Alice Madden, and Senator Ron Tupa were featured in the film.
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In the spring of 2004 the Clean Energy Fee was successfully passed by the Auraria Campus student body. The new student fee was created for the explicit purpose of “purchasing clean renewable electrical power for the Auraria Campus from August 23, 2004 through May 12, 2007”. This fee program has been successful in making the Auraria Campus a leader across the state and the nation in the purchase of renewable energy. SACAB is asking for approval of an increase to $5 per student, and the extension of the fee to be placed on the ballot for student vote April, 2007. |
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New Voters Project: Coordinator Drew Hazouri and core volunteers Danielle Ziff and Hailee Kohler drove a great effort to register 1,490 people to vote here at Auraria this fall. We then contacted 2,574 people in the week before the election to remind them to get out and vote. Our efforts paid off with long lines all day long at our on-campus polling location. Election day itself was a lot of fun, as we joined up with the CU Denver student government on their Rock da Vote Party complete with live music, a DJ, and plenty of excitement about voting. Campus Climate Challenge: Clean energy and sustainability are big buzz words on the Auraria campus nowadays, thanks in large part to the huge Sustainable Campus Fair put on by the Campus Climate Challenge in conjunction with the campus Student Activities Offices in November. Coordinators Lindsey Gavioli and Shaun Lally made sure that nobody on campus could miss the event, which included four showings of An Inconvenient Truth and a panel discussion about global warming chaired by Senator Gary Hart. Lindsey also made a presentation at the latest Auraria Board meeting proposing that the campus allow the installation of a 750 kilowatt solar array on campus. If approved, this will be the largest solar project on any college campus outside the state of California. Lindsey and CU Denver graduate student Andy Pattison are still working to make sure the Board appro ves the project at their December 20th meeting. To sign an on-line petition in favor of this project, go to: http://www.copirgstudents.org/action/solar Hunger and Homelessness: This semester's hunger campaign, led by coordinator Danielle Ziff, organized a Trick-or-Can food drive on Halloween night. More than 25 volunteers collected over 20 boxes of canned food for the Denver Rescue Mission along with almost $250 in cash and check donations by going door to door in the Cherry Creek neighborhood. Additionally, as part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, two speakers from the Denver Rescue Mission came to speak with students on campus. Student Debt and Textbooks: This semester, Coordinator Stephanie Overbeck has worked to develop a plan and potential budget for a textbook rental program. This program would help students save money on textbooks by letting them rent, rather than purchase, their books for a number of classes. CoPIRG Student Chapters plan to bring this program to campus over the course of the next year. http://www.copirgstudents.org! |
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On Election Day in Boulder, student voter turnout increased by 239% from the last midterm election. New Voters Project volunteers contacted 4,495 students who pledged to vote. Volunteers phonebanked, spoke to classes, chalked, postered, trick'or'treated, canvassed, all in an effort to prepare the campus for election day. It worked. The buzz on campus yesterday was about voting. The Project had a table set up outside the UMC to target student voters with questions. Students came to the table, pulled out their cell phones, and called the county clerk to find their polling place. They headed off to cast their ballots equipped with a poster filled with helpful phone numbers, directions, and proper identification information. Those who were turned away from polling places because of id issues were not detered; they patiently corrected the problem, returned to the poll boasting proper id, and waited to vote. Across campus, CU students who had already voted were greeted by New Voters Project volunteers who handed them a t-shirt, a sticker, and three phone numbers of other students who wanted to be reminded to vote! Professors sought out Project volunteers to get information to give to their classes. Staff across campus agreed to wear VOTE stickers to help remind students to vote. The Project volunteers made it clear that they did not care how students voted, just that students voted. "It's time for politicians to pay attention to us." The New Voters Project is currently examining ways to make voting easier for students as they shift focus to youth voter mobilization in 2008... |
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