How much a scholar costs – The Varsity

"As a U of T student, part of my student fees go towards guaranteeing access to subscriptions for dozens of academic journals. Without this subsidized access it would be necessary to pay as much as $30 per article in some popular journals. To gain extended access to a high-profile journal like Nature or Science, a year-long subscription would set you back hundreds of dollars. It is no wonder, then, that scientist Alexandra Elbakyan created Sci-Hub, a website that allows users to pirate more than 47 million academic papers. In response, online publishing giant Elsevier — which has faced backlash from over 12,000 academics, including some from U of T — filed a legal complaint againt the website, which has since been suspended. In response, Elbakyan moved her website to a new domain. She argued that charging for the papers was in violation of Article 27 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which pertains to one’s right to share in scientific advancement. As a student researcher, I support Elbakyan ..."