Combs printers pose inconvieniances for their users

By REBECCA MELSON

On a busy Friday afternoon in Combs Hall, English Linguistics and Communication students sit scattered about the first floor lobby, working on papers and meeting deadlines.  The faint clicks of their keyboards fill the halls. The printer, in the right corner of the lobby, collecting dust as a large number of students seem to be avoiding it.

Complaints about this printer have been on the rise, as an increasing amount of ELC students have faced difficulties getting the printer to accurately connect and retrieve their files, take their payment and print their documents.

This is a major inconvenience for the ELC students in particular, as they are required to print a large number of papers assigned on a regular basis.

“I have tried to use the printer in Combs three or four times unsuccessfully,” said senior communications major Danielle Howard. “One time I ended up paying for somebody else’s paper, and then had to re-pay for mine.”

Howard has since decided not to print in Combs Hall, choosing instead to make the hike to James Farmer Multicultural Center and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, where students can rely on printers to successfully print their required documents.

As the semester progresses and printing demands increase, this issue will pose a continuous inconvenience to students whose classes are primarily in the Combs building.

Further issues regarding time and money are attached to the faulty printer. “I have tried it, but it was pretty complicated getting the connections to work,” said senior English major in the education program Shannon Coryell.

Coryell, like many other UMW students, requires a large amount of prints for her classes. Combs is one of the few printers on campus that accepts only cash, making the matter even more complicated. Finding another printer that accepts non- EagleOne money may require a trip to Lee Hall.

Combs is on the farthest side of campus, so for students that have most of their classes held there, in addition to having only EagleOne money to pay with, the commute to other buildings in a small window of time can be stressful and unnecessarily counterproductive.

Due to the problematic nature of the Combs printers, students like junior Dorian Peele must use their own cleverness and critical thinking to print successfully.

“I go to room 101.  If you bring your own paper, you can make prints for free,” Peele said.  Other students have suggested going to the Office of Diversity with their own paper to make prints as well.

Though students like Dorian have found alternate routes for their printing needs, this path will not work for all ELC majors, and a need for a new student printer, or thorough technical work needs to be addressed.

In the meantime, ELC students may find it useful and financially sound to take their printing needs to the printing center, located in Lee Hall.  A print is priced at 3 cents a sheet and the staff is overtly friendly.