Rapper Kanye West went to the social media website Twitter in February to share his views on the cost of textbooks. “Education puts Americans into debt before they even get a chance to get started,” he wrote. “We have to lower the price of textbooks.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, gathers information on labor and the economy in the U.S. BLS information shows that from January 1977 to June 2015, the cost of university textbooks increased by 1,024 percent. This increase is at three times the rate of normal inflation. Within a few hours of West writing his comments on Twitter, Tidewater Community College in Hampton Roads, Virginia responded. “We got you,” the school wrote on its Twitter account. “The nation’s first textbook-free degree.” Tidewater began offering what it calls a “Z-degree” in 2013. Z-degree stands for “zero-textbooks.”
Title: Kanye Tweets for Cheaper Textbooks
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/kanye_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Kanye Tweets for Cheaper Textbooks' data-article-id='1327'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10771'>Rapper Kanye West went to the social media website Twitter in February to share his views on the cost of textbooks.</span> <span data-start-time='10771' data-end-time='18688'>“Education puts Americans into debt before they even get a chance to get started,” he wrote. </span> <span data-start-time='18688' data-end-time='22167'>“We have to lower the price of textbooks.”</span> <span data-start-time='22167' data-end-time='32188'>The Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, gathers information on labor and the economy in the U.S. </span> <span data-start-time='32188' data-end-time='47563'>BLS information shows that from January 1977 to June 2015, the cost of university textbooks increased by 1,024 percent.</span> <span data-start-time='47563' data-end-time='53688'>This increase is at three times the rate of normal inflation.</span> <span data-start-time='53688' data-end-time='64313'>Within a few hours of West writing his comments on Twitter, Tidewater Community College in Hampton Roads, Virginia responded.</span> <span data-start-time='64313' data-end-time='68563'>“We got you,” the school wrote on its Twitter account. </span> <span data-start-time='68563' data-end-time='72667'>“The nation’s first textbook-free degree.”</span> <span data-start-time='72667' data-end-time='79292'>Tidewater began offering what it calls a “Z-degree” in 2013. </span> <span data-start-time='79292' data-end-time='83667'>Z-degree stands for “zero-textbooks.” </span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/books_img.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=5557 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/what_does_rapper_mean.m4a'>What does rapper mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a person who performs rap music'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/making_a_profit.m4a'><span>making a profit</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/a_person_who_performs_rap_music.m4a'><span>a person who performs rap music</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/a_book_about_a_particular_subject.m4a'><span>a book about a particular subject</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/a_series_of_classes.m4a'><span>a series of classes</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=5558 data-hint-location='79292' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/what_is_it_called_when_a_degree_does_not_require_textbooks.m4a'>What is it called when a degree does not require textbooks?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Z degree'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/doctorate.m4a'><span>Doctorate</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/associate.m4a'><span>Associate</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/z_degree.m4a'><span>Z degree</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/bachelors_.m4a'><span>Bachelors </span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=5559 data-hint-location='32188' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/from_1977_to_2015_the_cost_of__blank__increased_by_1024_percent.m4a'>From 1977 to 2015 the cost of <span class='blank'>textbooks</span> increased by 1,024 percent.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='textbooks'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/textbooks.m4a'><span>textbooks</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/education.m4a'><span>education</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/food.m4a'><span>food</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/899/living.m4a'><span>living</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button 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