By: Ellie Hawkins

In the end of the spring semester of 2013, Suffolk was talking about starting a program called Paper Cut. This program would have students use their Ram Cards to print documents at printing stations around campus. The program was established this Fall and it seems like there is a love/hate relationship with this program by many different students.

Personally, I believe it is great that our campus has established this Paper Cut program. There have been many times when I have been studying late at the Mildred F. Sawyer Library and come down to retrieve my documents I have printed, only to see huge stacks of paper sitting in the printers. I will admit that I have forgotten my documents in the printer before only to print another one in a different Suffolk building on campus.

I believe that by having this program people will be more conscious about what they print and remind them to pick it up (because a student has to swipe their card at the printing stations.) They will be able to decide if they should print in black and white, single or double-sided, and even if they want all the pages printed from their document, because each page is taken out of the students’ Ram Card.

From what I understand, each student gets 500 pages to print during each semester. I also have heard that students have a total of $25 towards printing. What I do not understand is if we get 500 pages to print, why is there a balance of money in a student’s printing account? Does each print cost a certain amount of money? If so, is it more expensive to print on one side and in color? Are we able to use this money towards copying pages in text books? If a student needs to print flyers or handouts for a club or organization on campus, is there a certain office a student can go to print them? And lastly, if we have extra pages from the fall semester, will it roll over to the spring semester?

Overall, I think this program is wonderful for making other students aware of how much paper they are using; it might even help make each student more aware about recycling for the future. I know from fellow students it was hard to figure out how to print out documents the first time. It would have been nice if Suffolk had sent out an introduction video on how to print documents so it was easier for freshmen, as well as returning students, to start their fall semester.

It would be great at the end of the semester to know if this Paper Cut program reduced our carbon footprint at Suffolk and how much paper and ink the Suffolk community saved. If this program is a success, will this become more prominent throughout campus, where every printer will have a card swipe attached to the printers?