Students at Fossil Ridge High School have always had the privilege of using various printers around the school, and this year specifically they could print from their laptops instead of a desktop computer. These printers have long been used to print documents for students who may not have another way to turn in important school work. However, due inappropriate use of the printers, students will no longer to be able to use the printers through their laptops.

School printer usage has always been a controversial topic. On one hand, students can print out important schoolwork without the need to own a printer, while on the other hand students have the ability to abuse the printers by causing disruptions in the printing process by printing large amounts of paperwork or printing inappropriate documents. Since the restrictions were put in place, the printers went from open to limited. This means that students can now only print from a desktop tied to a printer.

“Printers have always been a problem. When we first got the laptops, we had rules that were way stricter than today,” said Will Allen, the principle at Fossil. “We thought this was just a phase that the students would eventually grow out of, but we were wrong.” He went on to say that for two weeks in December, over 65,000 extra copies of papers were printed. “It was getting very expensive keeping the printers up. Even though a single copy can cost half a cent to a cent, the numbers really begin to add up.” He hopes that students rely more on submitting papers through email or Google, rather than printing out hard copies.

Students are the main group affected by this restriction. Evan Wood, a sophomore student and user of the printers, said, “I can see why they did this. From what I’ve seen, the amount of paper left at and around the printers is pretty ridiculous. I use the printers like I hope most other students do, but I can see why the printers had to be closed down.” When told about the amount of paper was printed in two weeks, he said, “I’m honestly not surprised. The amount of paper wasted by students is insane.”

Though this may not be a permanent restriction, Allen has already seen improvement in the usage of the printers. Once things start to improve, we may see a more relaxed system in place for future students to enjoy.