There is a possibility that every Colorado State University student may be able to print for free within the coming years.
The Senate of the Associated Students of CSU passed a resolution (23-15-8) supporting the use of a company called Freenters that would provide free printing to all students at CSU. Freenters makes printing more affordable for college students and higher education institutions through advertisements, according to its website.
With the resolution having passed, it will be sent to the University administration as a recommendation from ASCSU.
If implemented, the company would not charge students or CSU for any part of its product and would instead make money from printing advertisements for local businesses along with what students print.
“This program is no cost to us because they’re making the money off of advertising,” said resolution author Sen. Josh Lindell when he introduced the idea two weeks ago.
The advertisements would take up the first and last pages of any print job, along with every four pages when students print more than seven pages. The advertisements would be on their own pages and would not take up space of the student’s work.
To counteract the increased amount of paper used by printing ads, Freenters works with a company called PrintRelief to plant a tree for every 8,300 pages printed.
Before the vote, some members of ASCSU expressed their discomfort with the use of Freenters to provide printing for students, while other senators said there was no need for them since some colleges and student organizations provide free printing for students.
“I have serious reservations about this resolution and the idea that we invite this corporation to come in and profit off of our students,” graduate gchool Sen. Rob Haggar said. “This company is not doing this out the of the goodness of their heart, they wish to further (profit) off something as benign as printing.”
Sen. Ethan Burshek of the College of Liberal Arts said he disagreed.
“Just because they’re doing it out of their own self-interest does not mean it won’t be of great benefit to us,” Burshek said.
Liberal Arts Sen. Claire Smith agreed with Burshek, saying that, at the end of the day, Freenters is making money off ads, not students.
Engineering Council Sen. Chris Mann expressed his opposition of the resolution for a different reason.
“Engineering, we already pay… to get printing money,” Mann said. “The free printing doesn’t really affect our people because we already get an exorbitant amount of money to spend on printing… The hassle to deal with the ads and pulling out the papers is just too much.”
Speaker Pro Tempore Melissa Quesada agreed with Mann based on her experience in the College of Business.
“My constituents don’t really find this beneficial for them just because certain majors do pay extra for printing, and getting it offered for free to other students that don’t have to pay that fee seems a bit unfair to them,” she said.
In response to this argument, Burshek countered that using Freenters would be beneficial for all students, not just ones who don’t already pay for printing through their majors.
“If this is implemented across campus, it has the potential to completely eliminate a student fee,” Burshek said. “That saves massive amounts of money from all of our students.”
Stuart Smith can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @stuartsmithnews
