Lowering the costs of textbooks is listed as the number one goal for Associated Students of DVC for the spring 2014 semester.

The program has now been altered with the intention of promotion throughout the campus, both for the program and ASDVC’s sake, as many students on campus are not aware of it’s existence or of it’s efforts to try to improve student life for DVC students.

Consequently, ASDVC board members Elijah Ziskin and Felicia Novia have begun an effort to try to relaunch the textbook exchange program under ASDVC.

“The Textbook exchange program was an old program in the Student Union building,” explains Novia. “However, it was not very popular among students.”

The program has already been in effect for a number of years at DVC.

“Upon increasing distress and rising concern to purchase affordable class material, your student representatives here in Diablo Valley College have received the pleasure in strategizing new methods on reducing textbook prices for your classes – and providing on-campus resources in selling and buying your books at a much more reasonable cost,” Ziskin said.

“We offer a card system,” Ziskin continues, “through which a student can submit or request books at any particular price, by filling out a copy at the front desk in the Student Union Building, and submitting basic information on the books and contact details for an efficient exchange to occur between students. The Student Life Office at DVC manages the card system.”

ASDVC recognizes the great number of students struggling with being able to afford the books required for their classes and in response, aims to stress the textbook exchange program during both the beginning and end of each semester, coinciding with DVC bookstore buybacks.

“Trading books will be cheaper and more beneficial,” asserts Novia.

When asked whether she’d consider using the textbook exchange program in lieu of the DVC bookstore buybacks, Raveena Birdee, 19, replied optimistically,

“Probably,” she said. “Just because I’ve heard that the buyback doesn’t actually give you back that much money. I’ve never heard of this program, so it sounds really interesting and I’d be willing to try it out.”