How many times has it happened that students rush to a computer to print off the paper they spent all night working on, only to get to a lab and discover that all the computers were full?

We at The Northerner don’t have scientific data to back this up, but we’ve all encountered the same predicament enough to know its a problem.
However, the recently approved Student Government Association resolution to provide wireless printing would help solve this problem.

On Oct. 31, senators unanimously approved a resolution asking the university to explore options to fund creating wireless printing access – meaning students would be able to print documents right from their own laptop computers to university-owned printers on campus.

The resolution provides no suggestions for how to implement the change, and gave uncited statistics (“80 percent of students have laptops and/or smart phones that would allow them to access wireless printing”), but does serve as a method of starting a discussion.

We support this resolution, and would like to see it enacted. As stated in the resolution, wireless printing would free up some computer resources, lessening demand for terminals. It would help students quickly print needed materials, and get to class.

However, this resolution should not cause costs for students to rise. Increasing printing costs to students would create more of a financial burden.
At the same time, it would be imperative that the changes took into consideration the possibility of a large influx of students trying to use the same printers at the same time. If the bandwidth isn’t large enough to handle more students at once, the printers will jam and frustration will heighten.
Not only is the accessibility to the printers an issue, but the effectiveness. Even if you can find an open computer, often printers are out-of-order, out of ink or out of paper. Making wireless printing an option means nothing if the printers don’t work to begin with.

Essentially, in the current situation, finding an accessible, working computer on NKU’s campus is like an involuntary scavenger hunt. Will wireless fix the problem? Only if all aspects of the current issues are carried into the new resolution.