Letter to the Editor: Privatizing the bookstore would be disastrous
The university is looking to sell the University of Calgary bookstore to Follett, an American corporation worth $2.7 billion. Bringing in a private corporation to sell textbooks to students would be kneecapping the student body at its most vulnerable during a pandemic, a recession and yearly tuition hikes.
Currently, textbooks are sold to students as close to at-cost as possible, keeping prices affordable. However, we all know that textbooks are still unaffordable, which is why the bookstore has three cost-saving programs the Book Loan program, the Sponsored Students program and the Textbook Rental program.