The Voice

Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Inside WCC

Media Credit: Sam Adamopoulos, The Voice Lisa Popescu in the Writing Center computer lab. Above the printer are a Victoria's Secret coupon and many copies of a research paper.

Various expenses cause financial dilemmas for many students. These includes tuition, textbooks, and other wallet-draining costs. Fortunately, the WCC Writing Center provides free printing. Their gift to the students comes with a simple request: don't print more than ten papers at once. What happens when students abuse this privilege?

Speculation that the Writing Center may begin charging for print-outs, at a cost of 5 cents per page, has spread throughout WCC. Numerous Writing Center tutors provide insight as to why this change may occur.

Nancy Bonner, a receptionist in the Writing Center, claimed, "We get usage from all areas of study." While originally intended for English assignments, students use the printers for a variety of subjects.

In addition to usage for other classes, people have also utilized the Writing Center's printer for non-educational purposes. Examples of actual writing center printouts rest on the wall behind the printer. The most amusing one by far is an ad for Victoria's Secret. Deals on quality lingerie may be a good thing, but are completely irrelevant to school assignments.

This ad is not the only paper on the writing center's "wall of shame." It shares the spotlight with a paper on the Lord of the Rings mistakenly printed a few times.

WCC instructors and students also have their opinions on this matter. English professor Kathryn Ingram-Wilson views the situation from different perspectives. She has witnessed the abuse of free printing, but also understands the fact that many students are economically challenged. According to Ingram-Wilson, students also had the advantage of free printing in the computer commons four years ago.

A poll conducted in Ingram-Wilson's ENG 111 class showed that 72 percent of her students strongly disagree with the Writing Center's possible plan to charge students. In a recent interview, students in Ingram-Wilson's class were asked to give their opinion on the situation.

Sabrina Johnson mentioned the fact that parents attend WCC as well; raising children can be expensive.

"Someone needs to govern what's going on in there," commented Lanice McGuire, another student from Ingram-Wilson's class. According to McGuire, tutors are barely present in the computer room to monitor and prevent excessive printing.

However, said Bonner, "It's not the tutors' responsibility to check on printing or otherwise monitor what's going on in the computer room." They may tell someone if they notice excessive printing going on, but it's otherwise outside their bailiwick.

When discussing the abuse of the Writing Center printer, the environment must also be taken into consideration.

Tom Zimmerman, the director of the Writing Center, explained, "It sends a bad environmental message." Zimmerman does not want people to think his philosophy is, "print all you want, the English department doesn't care about trees."

Zimmerman claims that the Writing Center is still unsure about charging. However, if the abuse continues, then this vague possibility just might become a harsh reality.

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