Free Printing gets cut by IT department
Therese O'Shea
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News
On Tuesday, April 28, the executive board of the student government arranged a meeting with heads of the Information Technology (IT) department, regarding a surprising change for the upcoming fall semester: no more free printing.
The student government (SG) was only made aware of this change when student ambassadors were advised to no longer mention free printing on their tours with prospective students. They received an e-mail on April 2, stating that "students will still have access to printers and copiers…but will be charged for printing, just like they are now if they go over their 400 page quota."
As several students who are student ambassadors also hold positions on student government, they were caught off guard as to where this change came from, why it was happening, and why student government was not consulted.
The meeting allowed the SG, backed by select administrators, to directly confront the IT department, as well as give the heads of IT a chance to explain themselves.
"It's just money," said Mike Trimble, VP for Info Tech and Security. "My budget has not increased, yet operational requirements have steadily increased each year. There is no other reason but economics."
The SG's main concern was that the current student body, the majority of prospective students, and the student government board themselves were not made aware of these changes.
"The administration is seen through us, and this is our business: the concerns of the students," said Kelly Leather, president-elect of the student government.
When a quota was set in fall 2008 on how many pages of free printing students could have per year, student government was concerned that they were not notified until late in the summer of 2008. Dean of students Larry Wielk pointed out that SG is not fully functioning during the summer months.
"We waited until the summer to tell students, and it looked like that was going to happen again this year," said Wielk. "And that is wrong."
The student government (SG) was only made aware of this change when student ambassadors were advised to no longer mention free printing on their tours with prospective students. They received an e-mail on April 2, stating that "students will still have access to printers and copiers…but will be charged for printing, just like they are now if they go over their 400 page quota."
As several students who are student ambassadors also hold positions on student government, they were caught off guard as to where this change came from, why it was happening, and why student government was not consulted.
The meeting allowed the SG, backed by select administrators, to directly confront the IT department, as well as give the heads of IT a chance to explain themselves.
"It's just money," said Mike Trimble, VP for Info Tech and Security. "My budget has not increased, yet operational requirements have steadily increased each year. There is no other reason but economics."
The SG's main concern was that the current student body, the majority of prospective students, and the student government board themselves were not made aware of these changes.
"The administration is seen through us, and this is our business: the concerns of the students," said Kelly Leather, president-elect of the student government.
When a quota was set in fall 2008 on how many pages of free printing students could have per year, student government was concerned that they were not notified until late in the summer of 2008. Dean of students Larry Wielk pointed out that SG is not fully functioning during the summer months.
"We waited until the summer to tell students, and it looked like that was going to happen again this year," said Wielk. "And that is wrong."
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