THE ISSUE: Tuition includes only 500 pages
WHAT WE THINK: Policy should be more flexible
As seniors across campus begin serious work on their theses, the newly imposed printing policy is stirring up more trouble.
When the University pitched the new policy last year, it mainly cited environmental reasons, leading many students to wonder why double-sided printouts count as two pages.
To cite one example: Your average student working on a thesis has to print his 100-page document at least five times for editing purposes. He has already surpassed his 500-page limit.
Then, add in another 600 pages for the 20 scholarly articles he needs to print. (Reading them on the computer screen is a strain on his eyes; also, his professor requires that he brings the articles to class.)
Though thesis advisers have differing requirements for in-class peer editing, he'll probably have to edit all of his classmates' work at least once. We'll be conservative and say that this total is 1,000 pages.
This generous estimate places our student's printing requirement at 2,100 pages, which would cost $48 in extra fees.
So, why should this student, who's paying nearly $50,000 in tuition, have to pay to complete his coursework effectively?
We surely can't figure it out. Forty-eight dollars alone might not seem like a lot, but it's just another hidden cost on top of a massive tuition bill - and these costs add up.
Students writing theses should have printing allotments that correspond to their professors' demands.
And for the rest of us: Please don't count double-sided pages as two. The stated motive for the printing allotment was to save the environment, so the policy should encourage double-sided printing.
Although the new printing policy had good intentions, the University needs to be more flexible in recognizing the needs of its students.
2008 Woodie Awards
