College of Communication Dean Tom Fiedler’s proposal for COM to go paperless this semester is too much, too soon. COM may be saving itself money and trees by going paperless, but it is only passing the burden on to students, professors and other BU printing facilities.
Just because COM has halted the flow of paper from its building does not mean students are going to be saving any money or be more environmentally friendly. Professors are still going to require students to print documents out on their own time, generating the same amount of waste from using personal printers or one of BU’s print labs.
By calling paper ‘obsolete,’ Fiedler has ignored the many academic advantages to marking up hard copy text during critical reading. Using a pen or pencil is still the preferred way to catch mistakes, and keeping eyes glued to a laptop screen is a poor alternative.
Professors who don’t require students to print class documents at all lose the benefits of teaching with hard copies. For instance, in COM classes that deal with current events, professors won’t have the option of copying news articles for students to analyze. Having handouts to take notes on in class is more academically engaging than listening to a professor drone on about a paper that students don’t have in front of them.
If professors try to remedy the situation by allowing laptops in their classrooms, it only puts another barrier between teacher and student. Students may find browsing Facebook much more interesting than that CourseInfo document. Adding to this disengagement conundrum, when instructors are forced to post all course materials online, will students have less incentive to go to class if all the tools they need to succeed are at their fingertips?
Smokers know how difficult it is to quit cold turkey, and the same logic applies to those addicted to paper. Going from using excessive amounts of paper to no paper at all is too drastic of a step. If COM wants to reduce paper usage, then administrators should start by imposing reasonable copying quotas on professors. This way, they can examine whether the papers they require are absolutely necessary.
If Fiedler is serious about making changes to adjust to ‘the current economic climate,’ then he should rethink the extravagant renovations he is proposing for the COM building’s exterior. Taking down the iconic radio tower and possibly replacing it with a huge ‘COM’ sign is expensive. Adding a Jumbotron to the front of the building would be a colossal waste of energy and would do nothing to improve a COM education or reduce expenses.
While BU should always be looking for ways to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, it’s important to not make rash decisions. Going paperless makes COM look good, but in this case, the cost to students both academically and financially outweighs the benefits.
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