Since the early 2000’s, tuition and fees have not only gone up but also the price of text books.

Students in college have turned to cheaper ways to attain required materials by buying them used, getting them online via sites like Amazon or purchasing them from other students. However, when all else fails, some students have turned to pirating books.

Studies from the Government Accountability Office show that from 2002-2012, the prices of textbooks skyrocketed by 82 percent, burdening students and authors both. Just as pirating hurts musicians and the artists who have had their work illegally acquired, authors of books and required texts are going through the same thing today. Although profits are not being made, students are getting their required materials by whatever means necessary in order to pass their classes.

When asked about the morality of pirating textbooks, Skyline student Oscar Cortez spoke about the financial circumstances of students.

“Legally no, ” Cortez said, about whether it’s right to pirate textbooks. “But considering that half of the school is broke or at least the students are, and it is one way to get the resources we need to become successful.”

As for the local Skyline bookstore, it is connected to the café and the print shop. It makes its sales through books, school merchandise (such as clothing), basic supplies and various other products. It may seem that a drop in sales affects only the bookstore, but it actually affects the school as a whole.

“It doesn’t hurt us,” Skyline bookstore manager Kevin Chak said.“It hurts students, for clubs and activities which profit from the bookstore by giving out donations. It affects salaries, benefits.”

Chak also mentioned that besides students’ activities being affected and the third parties, it is also the authors themselves.

“I am opposed to illegal activities“, said Christine Case, biology professor and author of a widely used microbiology text book. “With that being said, using a lot of the open source free books that are available, that information has to come from some place, you have to get it from some place…which hurts the students to an extent.”

More specifically, Case has repeatedly stressed that open source books, especially science books, need to be updated. They are not like literature, which can be copied and sent out. Science books have to be updated due to new discoveries, updated information or the relevance of situations addressed in the textbooks. An example provided by Case of one of these evolving situations is the Ebola outbreak.

Recently, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed two bills that will provide openly licensed digital textbooks for the 50 most popular lower division college courses offered by California colleges, intended to help college students with the cost of textbooks.

“Legislators are being short sighted,” Case said. “Who’s going to pay to make sure there are upgrades? Who’s going to pay for the art? It’s stealing from the artist and how are they going to change it, since you weren’t the artists. There are upgrades or new things are discovered.”