When we pay as much as we do to go to a school like Marquette, we hope that every penny is being well spent. Since the university very recently raised tuition, in addition to the services and fees charges for undergraduates, it may be time to reconsider the amount of money that students get to use for the PrintWise system.

For many students, the $14 is depleted far too soon. For those with a printer, this is not a problem, but for students without, it leaves few options for their printing needs.

Mooching off friends or roommates might work a few times, but it is doubtful they will appreciate this polite backdoor theivery if it keeps going on.

It would be a cruel fate indeed if — while running a little late to class — you stopped by the library at the last minute to print out your paper only to find you were out of Printwise money because it had been totally depleted in the earlier semester.

It is not just this exemplary situation that gives this issue relevancy. With electronic reserve, Internet and library reserve readings becoming vastly more popular among teachers, it is increasingly taxing on students' Printwise accounts to print out the necessary readings.

While the professor's intentions to minimize text book costs for students is indisputably noble, the average student is trapped between paying for printed reserve readings, increasing textbook costs, and the $14 limit on Printwise.

Since the textbooks are determined by increasing market prices and the reserve readings are determined by the professor in the individual course, the easiest path would be to consider increasing the funds available to students through the Printwise service.

This is especially true since photocopies from a professor's personal library could result in expensive lawsuits and negative press for both the professor and the university.

This is not to say there is malicious intent among those responsible for keeping Printwise working.

Nevertheless, the pressure on the Printwise accounts is increasing with every professor who adds additional reserve readings in the hopes of saving his or her students a few dollars of their well-earned pocket change. The pressures result in an increased need for MarquetteCash, which in turn means that students have less funds to spend on already-high priced textbooks and even more mandatory things, like food and services that could lure aspiring businesses to the area.

Sure, the additional $20 or $30 spent doesn't seem like much money at face value, but multiplied times the student population of Marquette, it's between $200,000 and $300,000, roughly enough to support at least one small business when added to the other disposable income that students recieve during their careers. Thus, raising the amount students get through Printwise could benefit the surrounding community

Hopefully, this issue will be resolved soon enough so we can get back to furiously printing out our papers five minutes before class.

This editorial appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.