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You might want to think before you print that 50-page paper in the computer lab.
Next semester, HSU will adopt a “pay-per-page” system of four cents per page in an attempt to save money and paper. Students currently pay a $5 paper fee at registration for the entire semester.
This change comes after years of pressure from students and faculty. Information Technology Services coordinator Bethany Rizzardi says that HSU computer lab users print more than 4 million pages of paper each year. More than 800,000 pages each year go to waste.
The university hopes the new fee system will cut down on wasted paper. “It really helps promote sustainability,” Rizzardi says. Students may choose to print less if they know that they pay for each page.
The pay-per-page system will come out of students’ c-card accounts electronically through each student’s HSU login. It will replace the current $5 paper fee. Upon printing, students will see a prompt asking them to accept the charge.
Some students are in favor of the change. HSU student Jessica Schwab sees it as a benefit. “I personally don’t print a whole lot,” she says.
Others disagree. HSU student Akiko Suganami thinks the current student fees should cover the cost of printing.
Most students will benefit from paying per page. With the current fee, students can print an average of 120 pages every semester. “Most students print less than what the [current] $5 fee covers,” Rizzardi says. “A few students print way more. They really skew the costs.” By paying per page, students will only pay for what they use.
In the 1990s, Associated Students recommended that HSU adopt the pay-per-page system. However, technology did not allow for it to happen. “The software just didn’t work at that point,” says Rizzardi.
Now that the technology is available, the pay-per-page system will be underway when you return to campus next semester.
Junior Dan Thompson does not mind. He says, “It might spark some conservation.”
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