Plans to charge for printing still in planning

Plans to charge students to print from the Tisch Library and Eaton computers are still underway, although they may take longer than expected to go into effect. The library staff on the Medford-Somerville campus has been speaking extensively with the vendor of the printing software to test the new program and work out the details.

The process has also taken student input into account -- a student sits on the library committee -- as well as looking at other schools' printing policies. The committee has focused especially on the policies of schools among the Boston Library Consortium Colleges, such as MIT, Boston University, and Boston College.

According to Tisch director Jo-Ann Michalak, the printing program has not left the planning stages. "We're still testing," she said.

Ideally, the plan would go into effect soon, but a change so late in the semester might be stressful for students, Michalak said. One idea is to install the software now but wait to implement the charging system. "It all depends on when it comes in the semester," she said.

A majority of the investigated Boston schools have already implemented a pay-for-print procedure, and they usually charge students between ten to 15 cents per page, Tisch's Assistant Director for IT Support Christine Kittle said.

Models Harvard, Boston University, and Cornell currently charge for printing, but NYU, Emory University, and MIT do not have such a policy.

Student response to such policies has varied widely. "I think it's necessary, otherwise people might take advantage of [free printing]," Cornell freshman Carmel Dibner said of her school's charging policy.

Rebecca Barron, a freshman at Harvard disagreed. "I think it's kinda wrong given how much we pay for tuition," she said.

Tufts freshman Cynthia Waite feels similarly. "College students are hard-pressed enough for cash," she said. "With books, food, board, and tuition, you would think that it would include the cost of paper."

Some opponents of pay-for-print policies are concerned with technical issues rather than issues of principle. Students often have to send sheets to the printer more than once, leading some to question whether they would be charged for computer glitches.

To combat this problem, the Tufts committee is testing for glitches and believes the new program will be pretty reliable, Michalak said. Students will not be charged for computer issues that are not their fault.

In the past, students have expressed anger over the environmental explanation for the new policy -- ideally to save trees -- and they are concerned that the environmental reasons are merely an excuse for making a profit off of students' printing needs.

Tufts students have offered countless objections. "What they need to do is increase student awareness of the wasting of paper that goes on, not charge us for it we already pay for a lot of things," freshman Sam Ronfard said.

Aaron Held, another Tufts freshman, thinks the policy is necessary to cover printing costs and curb waste but added that Tisch should only charge students "exactly their operating costs for machines, paper and toner."

Michalak claims, however, that the money will solely be used to cover the printing expenses. Thus far, printing expenses have been borne by the library's operating budget and these expenses continue to rise as the library purchases more full technical services.

"We're actually digging into our pockets and taking money we would be paying for other things and sending it to pay for printing right now," she said.