Student gives two cents on printing costs
Marcus Wekenmann- Senior, Journalism
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Two Cents
Consider for a moment the cost of being a student. Yes, it makes my head throb too. Of course, in light of our more than $20,000 tuition, $0.08 doesn't seem terribly bad, does it?
But stop by a DePaul Intelliprint computer around campus with your professor's 10-page reading assignment in PDF format and you may be humming a different tune.
Yes, do this once a week, perhaps for two of your courses and $0.08 has suddenly turned into the price of a decent dinner during your 15-minute break in night class, or perhaps drinks for you and a special someone afterward.
DePaul, unlike hundreds of other colleges, does not offer any allotment of free printing or copies. The rationale, according to the Information Services Web site is that "less than half of DePaul students make prints on university printers."
So this, of course, is the University's way of making printing equitable, providing it to students who actually use it. Matthew Sherman, manager of Document Services, which runs the Campus Copy Centers (not the printing services), confirmed their strategy via e-mail.
"The charge back is a fair way to distribute the cost. If you use it then you pay for it," he said. "Nobody wants to pay for something they did not purchase."
Yet, I'm certain I do not speak only for myself when I say I would gladly go Office Space-style on my Canon Inkjet if I was allotted a bit of free printing.
Then there is the cost argument. If students do not pay, through tuition or per use, how will copiers and printers be maintained, or ink and toner purchased?
Students could pay for the allotment either through a nominal fee included in tuition. What's another $15 on top of $20,000 anyway? Consider the fact that if included in tuition, the fee can even be covered by financial aid. Simply put, one or two dollars out of a student's pocket here and there adds up quicker than if paid for all at once, and stings far worse.
There's another compelling side to DePaul's argument. According to Information Services' calculations, the University saves nearly 104 trees per year. And in a remarkable practical, mathematical display that could only have been conceived in academia, the people at IS even show their work!
But stop by a DePaul Intelliprint computer around campus with your professor's 10-page reading assignment in PDF format and you may be humming a different tune.
Yes, do this once a week, perhaps for two of your courses and $0.08 has suddenly turned into the price of a decent dinner during your 15-minute break in night class, or perhaps drinks for you and a special someone afterward.
DePaul, unlike hundreds of other colleges, does not offer any allotment of free printing or copies. The rationale, according to the Information Services Web site is that "less than half of DePaul students make prints on university printers."
So this, of course, is the University's way of making printing equitable, providing it to students who actually use it. Matthew Sherman, manager of Document Services, which runs the Campus Copy Centers (not the printing services), confirmed their strategy via e-mail.
"The charge back is a fair way to distribute the cost. If you use it then you pay for it," he said. "Nobody wants to pay for something they did not purchase."
Yet, I'm certain I do not speak only for myself when I say I would gladly go Office Space-style on my Canon Inkjet if I was allotted a bit of free printing.
Then there is the cost argument. If students do not pay, through tuition or per use, how will copiers and printers be maintained, or ink and toner purchased?
Students could pay for the allotment either through a nominal fee included in tuition. What's another $15 on top of $20,000 anyway? Consider the fact that if included in tuition, the fee can even be covered by financial aid. Simply put, one or two dollars out of a student's pocket here and there adds up quicker than if paid for all at once, and stings far worse.
There's another compelling side to DePaul's argument. According to Information Services' calculations, the University saves nearly 104 trees per year. And in a remarkable practical, mathematical display that could only have been conceived in academia, the people at IS even show their work!
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