Classes have started, and unless you pre-ordered or are an athlete, you will soon discover the ridiculousness of textbook prices. For freshmen, the good old days of opening the inside of a textbook to see who owned it in previous years is at an end. Now you’ve got to pay… a ton.

$95 for a used Intro to Psychology textbook at Michigan Book and Supply is no laughing matter, and the Michigan Student Assembly is looking to help out. Their proposal to have professors send out textbook lists earlier was not as successful as they would have liked. It sounds like it might take another year for the plan to catch on.

If it does, though, students will have the opportunity to shop Ebay, Amazon, or other websites for their books. Those who order online despite the late notifications have to wait for shipping, and when they finally receive their textbook the class is already on chapter four. Hopefully by next year the monopoly of Shaman Drum and Ulrich’s will be at an end.