In his last hurrah on the City Council, Austin King proposed an ordinance that would regulate the sales of used textbooks. According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, textbook theft is a prevalent city problem and forcing stricter record keeping at bookstores is the solution.
Verveer and King's logic is flawed. They claim that by keeping records of what students buy and then forcing them to show their student ID when selling the books back, textbook theft will dissipate. However, this proposal overlooks many important aspects.
One major issue is that it extends the hand of the city too far into students' private lives, something one bookstore owner stated in opposition to the ordinance. ""I don't think we want the police department holding onto the records of what people read in this city,"" said Sandy Torkildson, owner of A Room of One's Own. ""I would never hand over that information on any of my customers because it's a very private thing.""
The ordinance also limits the options available for students in selling back their books. Under this ordinance, it seems as though any student who bought a textbook online or from a friend could not sell it back to a bookstore because there is no record of them ever buying it.
Students often use these alternative methods of purchasing textbooks because it is cheaper. Therefore, closing off this avenue puts an undeserved burden on students as well.
Verveer claims this ordinance also will be a preventative measure because it discourages students from stealing a book if they know they have to present their ID when selling it back. However, it is very unlikely that a thief has this thought on his mind when committing the act.
In the end, if textbook theft is really a big problem on this campus as Verveer said, it is up to individual bookstores to improve security measures and individual students to take responsibility for protecting their possessions. Creating massive governmental red tape for something this small is not the answer.
