Prior to this semester, engineering concentrators were granted exclusive access to printing in Barus and Holley free of charge. But a new rule instituted at the beginning of this semester revoked that right.
Free printing was eliminated to make the engineering department more "environmentally friendly," said Dean of the School of Engineering Lawrence Larson.
"Back in 2008, (former president) Ruth Simmons charged the engineering department for its carbon footprint impact," Larson said. He added that 6,000 pounds of paper, or about 15 pounds of paper per engineering student, produced 30 tons of carbon during the 2011-12 academic year alone.
In 2008, as part of the University's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals, Simmons called for a 42 percent reduction of its carbon footprint below 2007 levels by 2020.
Some engineering students are finding it difficult to adjust to the policy change, which now provides them the $30 of printing funds for Pawprints that all students receive.
As of Sept. 26, there were almost 150 signatures on an online petition of engineering students unhappy with the loss of credits. Alternative solutions anonymously suggested in the petition include the increased digitization of class material and the distribution of printed packets by professors.
"I would like the dean of engineering to fix this," said Selena Buzinky '15. "It was a poor choice to have such a drastic change from free printing to no printing in such a short time without notifying us."
Other students admitted that they had taken advantage of the free printing policy in the past.
"I have used engineering privileges for printing non-engineering related subjects," said Richard Park '15. "I even know engineers who have printed entire books unrelated to engineering."
A solution could involve hiring a "computer attendant to regulate what is being printed to make sure everything being printed is applicable to engineering," Park added.
David Mycue, director of information technology for the School of Engineering, said the department's concern lies "with meeting CIS provisions in compliance with Brown's Brown is Green Initiative."
In an email to engineering undergraduate students sent Sept. 20, Mycue wrote that discussions regarding transitioning to Pawprints "only developed in mid-summer." In the email, which was the first official announcement of the change, he apologized for the late notice.
"The communication to students for this change had not been what it should," Mycue wrote.
Mycue also wrote about the services offered by the department to ease the students' transition, including help with the initial configuration of PawPrints. Other engineering faculty and staff also said they hope an agreement could be reached between the school and its students.
"We're committed to working with students and making any changes to the policy as the year goes on," said Gordon Morton, manager of communications for the School of Engineering.
Larson echoed the sentiment and said faculty and staff are "very anxious to work with students to reach a compromise that will make everyone happy."
