Undoubtedly, the credit card bills, bursar statements or the hole in your wallet seems larger than usual this month. In the process of reflecting, you make that connection to why finances seem grimmer: textbooks. Whether you bought books before classes started or just last week, the enormity of textbook prices riles up most students' anger and discontent.

Unfortunately, this problem affects students across the nation. In fact, prices have risen 186 percent in two decades, according to the Government Accountability Office's report. According to the New York Times,the average student spends about $900 each year on textbooks alone (forget about tuition and other levied fees). [Read article]

"The miserable have no other medicine/ But only hope." – William Shakespeare

Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States. The catastrophic storm left hundreds of thousands homeless. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin expects the death toll to rise to 10,000. Infectious diseases such as the West Nile Virus and the often-fatal E. coli bacteria pose a genuine threat to those remaining in the region. Experts have issued a warning to not even touch the floodwaters. This is the "miserable." [Read article]

Nothing wrong with Res Life as a business

After reading Mike Morefield's Friday column ("Res Life Sees Residents as Dollar Signs"), I was a little confused. Okay, I am not going to argue that Residence Life is not a business entity. Well, Mr. Morefield, look around the campus. Which department isn't a business? From the Student Union to the university itself, everything is a business.

And what's so wrong with it? First, he was trying to demonstrate the injustice that Residence Life shows towards residents by running the department like a business. But, he failed to actually quote any unhappy residents. Second, his declaration that communication problems run throughout Residence Life was totally random. [Read article]