By Erich Gillespie (Whetstone Staff)

Library computer system

Library computer system         Nick Deterding / Whetstone

 

Imagine a student rushing to class – late, of course – and she stops by the library to print out a few assignments before darting up the College Center stairway to conserve as much precious time as possible.

Finding a computer was hard enough, but as she approached the printing stand, her worst fears are confirmed – “Pay-for-print will resume again…. Today.”

This has been a problem faced by Wesley College students the last few semesters, and many students are annoyed at its inconvenience.

“My life is at risk every time I walk to campus,” said senior commuter Fabrice Lohier.  “So when I get here and see that the printing procedure has changed again, it gets frustrating.”

Jody Sweeney, Chief Technology officer at Wesley, explained why the library now charges.

“The College made a decision long ago to implement pay-for-print on library printers,” he said. “The decision was made to offset the cost of printing. Also included was the ‘Print Release Station’ interface that allowed students to deliberately pick the print they wanted, which deterred inappropriate use of the printers.”

Free printing was first introduced as part of an initiative by the Information Technology (IT) department to go “green.”

“I have been adamant that the use of technology should be a high priority in moving toward a “green” campus,” Sweeney said. “We decided to offer free printing at the beginning of each term so students could use the printers in the Library to print their schedules.”

Even as the IT department works to implement of Wi-Fi throughout the campus and “smart boards” in its classrooms, some students feel as though the printing problem has Wesley College’s very own “geek-squad” stumped.

“At one point [the printer] was taking our money,” said junior Shelby Hand, “I’m always on the go, so a faster and more efficient printing process would benefit me if not any other student.”

“We pay enough to go here, the least the school can do is include printing costs in with our tuition,” said Wesley junior Arvantis Smith.

Lohier said he wished the process was more consistent. “One day it’s free, I don’t bring change, and end up not being able to print work,” he said.

Junior Ben Barile reported that the daily happenings in our library don’t apply to him.

“I have my own printer so if I don’t print an assignment in time, I hold myself accountable,” he said. “Printing in the library can get expensive over time, but the college has to make some money back for the ink and paper they print out.”