The new policy signed off by Gov. Jerry Brown, allowing for students to have access to free school textbooks, is a great benefit for all students

With the economy being the way it is, Cerritos College students are sure to benefit from gaining access to free textbooks for lower division courses since we are all looking for bargains on Amazon or Cheggs anyway.

Gov. Brown signed Senate bills 1052 and 1053 on Thursday, Sept. 27, which allow students to have free access to electronic textbooks for about 50 lower division courses, according to online news.

With tuition and school expenses on the rise, all students, but primarily Cerritos College students, can benefit from these bills in many ways, specifically if you find yourself low on cash every time you check your wallet.

You may not know this, but some students cannot afford to be full time students like most of us are and that is because they cannot handle all the expenses that come with a college education, which books make up a huge part of.

Many of our students are struggling to make ends meet, and you may be able to relate because you fall into this category yourself. You may or may not work, and you may or may not receive financial aid, but everyone has bills to pay, rent, food, and of course, school tuition and supplies.

According to an online poll, on average, a community college student can spend between $300 and $500 on textbooks each semester, and that is a lot of money for us to be handing over for a book we are only going to use on a one time basis.

“I agree with Gov. Brown’s decision, I mean we [Cerritos College] are a community college and most of our courses are lower division so I think it’s a great idea, now all my aid doesn’t have to go toward books,” History major Manuel Delgadillo said.

An education is one of the most valuable abstract concepts you could obtain and benefit from in this society, but in order to obtain it, one must go to school and pay our way through courses and supplies.

These bills are the “break” you ask for when you look at the price of a textbook and exclaim “Give me a break!”

This is an opportunity we, as students, can only benefit from because when it all comes down to it, this means more money in your pocket while still having access to your required text at your fingertips.