DEAL presents case for double-sided printing across campus
In an effort to increase environmental support on campus, Drake organization DEAL (Drake Environmental Action League) is petitioning for four changes on campus to make the university more environmentally friendly.
“We’re trying to get involved in some of the university’s choices concerning the environment,” said Jenny Koska, DEAL co-president.
The first suggestion DEAL is making to administration is to make all university printing double-sided. This would cut paper consumption on campus by half.
The second suggestion is for all university computers to have “eco-font” set as the default font. Eco-font has little holes in the text, which are not noticeable in small point size text. This would reduce ink usage by 25 percent. Eco-font is available to download for free at www.ecofont.com.
The third suggestion is for all paper purchased by the university to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which encourages the responsible management of forests.
“We want the university to know they are getting paper from a place that endorses social and environmental standards,” Koska said.
The final suggestion DEAL is making is to move more university paper work and class assignments online in order to avoid using paper altogether.
“These are recommendations we have for campus,” Koska said. “We really just want to get the conversation going about environmental issues.”
If you’re interested in signing the petition for these changes on campus, contact Jenny Koska or another member of Drake’s Environmental Action League.
Photo: Connor McCourtney
These are wonderful ideas, but I question the eco-font suggestion. This is because I would venture a guess that the vast majority of printing that comes from Drake computers is class-related. By this, I mean most people are printing papers that professors require to be in MLA/APA formatting — the guidelines for which dictate that the font be Times New Roman. In order to implement eco-font as the default, professors must be willing to acknowledge its usage and be willing to deviate from strict adherence to MLA/APA formatting guidelines.
I guess there are two issues I have with this. The first being that all the paper the university purchases “to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.” Is the money paid actually going to do something (like plant more trees) or is the university paying for the recognition that they are being more eco-friendly? Second, making things more online and whatnot is wonderful, as long as you can guarantee that the Internet will function at all times on and around campus (which we all know does not happen right now). Not to mention, I know I like having a paper copy of something to read rather than being forced to read it on my computer if it’s more than a few pages long.