After reading Matthew Lukens' letter, I witnessed another ripoff against students, this time in Physics 213 (Fluids and Thermal Physics) and Physics 214 (Wave Motion and Quantum Physics.

The Penn State Physics Department has teamed up with WebAssign, an online company that provides online homework assignments.

However, in order to access this service and receive a grade for your homework, a student is required to buy an additional lab manual for $14.

While this manual contains useful lab templates, it also contains a password and registration number that the student needs to enter to access WebAssign.

What I find atrocious is that all labs are readily available online for free or minimal printing charges, leaving me to believe that we students are paying $14 for Penn State's tab to WebAssign.

When students questioned lab teaching assistants, we received a response that pretty much validated our assumptions.

I, for one, would like an explanation for this mandatory extra charge on top of all other books.

Paying for books is one thing, but paying to do homework is another.