Wednesday, March 4, 1998
Paper jam
Group asks University to rethink computer labs' print job markers
By TIM SWIFTCollegian Staff Writer
It's usually found on the floors of computer labs or flowing out
of recycle bins, but now it might be clearing out all together.
The yellow paper in University computer labs may be in a state of jeopardy -- Eco-Action, a student environmental organization, is lobbying to eliminate it.
Center for Academic Computing Home Page
"Our office is filled with (the yellow paper) and we haven't begun to scratch the surface of collection," said Eco-Action president Autumn Hanna. "We need paper, but not that much paper."
Walter Yang (graduate-labor and industrial relations) disposes of yellow sheets that are printed with each print job in Willard computer lab yesterday. The paper use has gotten attention from student groups such as Eco-Action the University has considered halting the practice. (Collegian Photo/Zubin Patrawala - click for full size image)
Even though the yellow paper is recycled when students are finished
using it, Hanna said the new paper brought into the labs is not
recycled paper, leading to deforestation concerns.
Many students reuse the paper for scrap or note taking. Undergraduate
Student Government Senate meeting minutes are also written on
the yellow paper.
The Center for Academic Computing has been the main target of
Eco-Action's activism.
"If the general consensus of the students is that it (the
paper) is not needed, we can look into that," said Carl Knowlton,
manager of Lab and Classroom support of CAC.
However, Knowlton said CAC uses the yellow paper for sorting purposes.
Many students might be confused as to which printed documents
belong to them in large labs, such as those in Findlay Commons
or Sparks Building.
The CAC spends about $15,000 per year on the yellow paper, said
Jim Kerlin deputy director of CAC. A spokesperson at Penn State
General Stores, the paper supplier, said CAC purchases 15 cartons,
or 75,000 sheets, of yellow paper on average per week for $43.60
a carton.
Some students say the yellow paper is waste of resources and money.
"I think it's waste of paper," said Maria Lemus (junior-administration
of justice). "You still have to look . . . you should know
what you printed."
Eco-Action member Garrett Fitzgerald (junior-engineering) said
he has been trying to work with CAC to find ways to gauge student
opinions such as adjusting certain computers to not print with
yellow paper and evaluate its usage. However, Garrett said CAC
officials had been unresponsive to Eco-Action's plan thus far.
Kerlin said in his 30 years of working with computer printing, the yellow paper is the best way to sort printer output. He said CAC wants to give the best service to students and eliminating the yellow sheets would hinder their convenience.
