Let’s face it: Notre Dame students have a tendency to complain, especially over any new policy that the University enacts. While usually exaggerated, the uproar about Notre Dame’s most recent change to the print quota has clearly become an issue that is affecting students’ ability to succeed academically.
At the beginning of this semester, the print system that yielded students at most 3,000 pages during the previous year, measured in dollars, was inexplicably switched to a point system that reduced students’ quota to 1,000 pages per year. Unused points will not roll over to the next academic year. While at first glance, this change may just be viewed as another measure to be environmentally friendly, while no doubt being a money-saving measure for the University, Justin McCurdy’s viewpoint last week notes that there are some confusing nuances based on how many pages students print and whether or not the print job is single or double-sided.
Even more critically, this adjustment has quickly become a detriment for students — and we’re only three weeks into the semester. A direct effect of this new printing system is that students have to change the way that they learn by printing less of their academic materials. Ironically, since more and more professors are also limiting the use of electronics in classes, printing off the assigned readings is becoming a necessity. This misalignment between OIT and classroom rules will only lead to more and more frustration and expenses for students as the semester goes on.
We want to implore that students’ print quota is increased.
As seniors working on our theses, capstones and final projects, we have already burned through half of our allocated printing for the semester. Is anyone up for pooling his or her money to buy our own printer?
Emily Mediate and Simone Oberschmied
seniors
Lyons Hall
Sept. 10
