Cutting Back on Luxuries

Last time I was taking classes at the community college, we’d buy our own blue books for essay exams. They’re available in the student bookstore for thirty-five cents. For multiple-choice tests, the teachers would pass out ScanTrons with the exam. I assumed it had always been thus.

This year, as our history teacher went over the syllabus, he warned us that we will have to buy our own ScanTrons this year, as well as the blue books. Evidently the school is really tightening its belt, or something.

Now I’m wondering if, at one point, the blue books were given out with exams.