Kimberly Von Randow ‘28
Opinions Editor
Before students attend their first lecture each semester, many face a different kind of test: How much can you afford to learn?
A single textbook can cost $200 or more. Add mandatory online access codes, lab manuals, and digital homework platforms, and the price of “required materials” can quietly climb into the hundreds for just one course. Across a full schedule, students may spend a fortune on materials before factoring in tuition, housing, or groceries. And even if you do have the funds to comfortably afford this, you will instead be paying with your pride. It’s in this environment that textbook piracy has become so common across college campuses.
Now, don’t frame me as a crime apologist—pirating textbooks is illegal. Authors deserve to be compensated for their work, and intellectual property laws were set for good reason. It is also true that when large numbers of otherwise law-abiding students become scholarly Robin Hoods and turn to unauthorized PDFs on Reddit, it’s worth asking a harder question: what kind of system makes breaking the rules feel like the only viable option?
The modern textbook market is uniquely structured in ways that disadvantage students. Professors assign specific titles, often from a small group of major publishers. Students, who ultimately pay the bill, have little say in the selection. Unlike most markets, the consumer is not the decision-maker. Publishers also release new editions frequently—sometimes with only minor changes—undermining the used book market and preventing resales between students. Online homework systems are bundled with one-time, usually temporary, access codes that cannot be resold or shared. Even when students find cheaper secondhand copies, they may still need to purchase expensive digital components to complete graded assignments. The result is an audience held hostage.
In many cases, students feel as if pirating textbooks may be their only option, even knowing it is a crime. For low-income students especially, the choice may not be between buying legally and downloading illegally. It may be between having the textbook and not having it at all. This does not mean piracy is harmless. Authors, including professors who write textbooks, rely on royalties from such purchases. But it is also true that major publishing companies report significant revenues while students take the fall of increasing financial pressure. And even under a capitalist society, it is still blatantly greedy to rely on millions of struggling students to make most of your money.
If the goal is to reduce piracy, a structural reform is being called for. Expanding Open Educational Resources (OER), supporting faculty in adopting lower-cost materials, and increasing price transparency could dramatically ease the burden. Education is often described as a pathway to opportunity and financial growth. Yet when the tools required for that education carry appalling price tags, students are understandably pushed into ethical gray areas. Textbook piracy now becomes a reflection of an unfair system where access to knowledge is increasingly expensive.
If we want students to respect the system, the system must first be affordable enough to respect them.
Featured image courtesy of PIRG
Copy Edited by Sophia Mariani ’26
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