There are finally printers in Corcoran Commons.
Although the two new printers were not installed by the first day of classes due to unforeseen power and data issues, technology director Scott Cann said, they were installed Friday, Sept. 2 and are now available for students to use.
One printer is located on the second floor of Corcoran Commons near Addie’s in the alcove with to the left of the staircase, and the other, also on the second floor of Corcoran Commons, is between the dining tables.
The installation comes after years of discussion about the need for printers in more convenient locations on campus. Former UGBC President Thomas Napoli, MCAS ’16, and Executive Vice President Olivia Hussey, MCAS ’17, made the installation a priority of their campaign platform in the spring of 2015, but they were not the first to bring up this issue—in the past decade, all of the UGBC presidents have called for more printers on campus.
The printers were purchased last semester but logistical holdups, such as electrical outlets, wireless Internet routers, zoning laws, and bureaucratic delays, prevented IT Services from installing them until last week.
“The goal here is really to just make things better for students. We definitely heard the demand for these things last year and in years prior.”
—Scott Cann, technology director
This is a pilot program, Cann said, meaning that over the course of the 2016-17 academic year, IT Services will collect user data to understand whether or not students are using the printers. If the printers prove to be popular, IT Services will explore the possibility of moving the printers out of O’Neill Library and into convenient locations on campus, such as McElroy Commons.
“It’s really going to depend on how much these get used,” he said.
In the future, IT Services plans on displacing printers from the library to make the change in the most cost-responsible way. The issue is not that there aren’t enough printers on campus, Cann said. The issue is that the printers are not in good locations.
Cann did not know how much students have been using the printers since their installation last week, but he said he expects students to use them more later in the semester as their course loads increase.
“The goal here is really to just make things better for students,” he said. “We definitely heard the demand for these things last year and in years prior.”
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Editor
