While full-time students can now print up to 800 pages free of charge this semester, the Academic Affairs Committee of the SGA is not finished contesting the restrictions.
"The Academic Affairs Committee will continue to work on this issue," Academic Affairs Chair Ivan Vilela,said, who spearheaded the policy reform. "I believe that if there is going to be a limit; the limit should accommodate the needs of different academic disciplines."
He understands the rationale behind the policy, saying "Environmental considerations and budgetary constraints affect us all."
Students have complained that thelimit does not grant more pages to students who may have good reason to need more prints than others.
"I would like to see the students in sciences get a higher limit. Graduate students should get a higher limit. We are not all the same, we should not all have the same limit," Vilela said.
However, the limit does not give more prints to students with different majors, in different schools or in different class years.
Additionally, students needed to click on a link in the Broadcast Message to read the entire new policy, which states that the limit is 800 pages for full-time students for the fall 2009 semester, but will go down to 600 pages in the spring and will return to 400 pages next fall.
"I believe that this detail should have been made clear," Vilela said, who was concerned that students did not click on the link.
The Digital Sustainability Committee, in conjunction with the Teaching Learning Technology Roundtable, determined the new limit after a meeting was held to hear students' concerns.
There were 22 students present at the meeting, and Vilela said the meeting was successful.
The Digital Sustainability Committee and TLTR are also working with professors to try and limit the amount of printing necessary for classes.
The committee is also exploring a double-sided printing option.
"The students are not the only ones being asked to change their ways," Vilela said.
Vilela said he is not dissatisfied with the new limit, but that he and the Academic Affairs Committee will continue to work on the issue.
"The new limits on the paper policy will give us (SGA, student body and the administration) more time to adapt," he said. "It is the intent of the Academic Affairs Committee to continue working on a paper policy that will be more compatible to student needs."
The debate isn't over, and there are two seats open for students in the Digital Sustainability Committee.
There will be a meeting with the Digital Sustainability Committee and TLTR on Oct. 28. The time and place have not yet been determined.
The Academic Affairs Committee as a whole put effort into the paper policy, and Vilela credits Executive Board Secretary Sean Kennedy and Senator Dana Kappel for their initiative, resolution and support.
The success of SGA's Academic Affairs Committee was noted by the SGA at their meeting this past Monday.
At the meeting Vilela introduced other projects the Committee will be working on,some of these projects including the creation of more study abroad partnerships with universities around the globe such as in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Other projects include finding a better system for the allocation of merit and need-based scholarships.
Students interested in starting a club on campus are encouraged to apply for consideration by coming before the Student Organizations Advisory Council.
Katherine O'Brien can be reached at katherine.obrien@student.shu.edu.
