It’s the first day of the new semester and I’m ready for syllabus discussion and icebreaker games. But, since this is college, some courses jump right into the material. Disappointing, but I came prepared.

Many of my classmates, however, did not.

When a professor assigns reading homework on the first day, I cringe and write down the assignment in my planner, but many of my fellow scholars immediately raise their hand and say something like, “Professor, I don’t have my books because (insert lame excuse here).”

Actual excuses aside (like when Amazon delivered my books to the wrong address), most of these students haven’t even ordered their books yet. I’ve heard many students justify this practice by saying they want to wait and see what books they will need.

This sounds like a reasonable notion until one remembers professors submit a required book list to the university bookstore weeks before the semester starts. It gives the impression some students might simply try to get out of buying books for whatever reason.

Some students seem to think their professor is going to tell the class they don’t need to buy any books at all because “screw the man” and all that jazz.

Sorry guys, that’s probably not going to happen.

Maybe students think textbooks are unnecessary, or maybe too costly. I understand textbooks are ridiculously expensive. However, they are an essential part of learning. Not to mention, students can find textbooks for a really good discount on this new-fangled thing called the Internet.

Shocking, I know.

Websites like Amazon, Chegg and Valore Books provide inexpensive purchasing and rental options for books that could potentially save hundreds of dollars on books every semester. There is no excuse for students to wait until the first week of school to buy their books. Part of becoming an adult is being responsible and properly preparing for things.

Students have to know coming prepared to class is their responsibility as a scholar. Yes, books and other supplies are expensive, but those supplies are necessary to learn. We’re adults who are in college now, it’s about time we learn how to be good students.