Comment by rsanek

The author says he's not "putting down" the students he's describing, but the codescention is spread so thickly through every paragraph that it's hard to believe him.

I concur with the other commenters about him also being disconnected from costs. Textbook prices, like those of other expenses related to higher education, have skyrocketed over the last five decades. [0]

[0] https://myelearningworld.com/textbook-prices-vs-inflation/