In response to a recent letter about student complaints (“SGA working to ease printing pains,” Oct. 29.) with the new print quota, I am extremely disappointed. The print quota is one of the best moves by the administration to reduce waste on campus. This is both an environmental and economic issue. The university is reducing costs that typically are passed on to students and saving hundreds of virgin trees in the process. As students we should be thinking forward and looking for solutions, not complaining about the problem. There are a number of steps students can take to reduce their printing needs:

1. Don’t print Powerpoints. Instead bring your laptop to class or take notes on a separate piece of paper. If you need the Powerpoints printed, print six slides per page.

2. Speak to your professors and deans about submitting assignments online through Blackboard or another source. I have taken a number of classes that were completely paperless, including Advanced Writing in the Disciplines. My professors e-mailed assignments back with feedback using Microsoft Word’s comment feature.

3. Write to the administration to demand double-sided printers. This would reduce paper requirements by 50 percent.

4. Think before you print and ask yourself if you will really use the document.

5. When you are done with the paper reuse it if one side is still blank and then recycle the item.

We are a generation of technology, and students should be using technology to reduce dependence on paper. It is a matter of being willing to change our way of life. The threat of global warming is real and is a problem our generation is already dealing with. For those in the student body who think there is nothing they can do about today’s environmental problems, reducing the amount of paper you waste is a first step. Students should be thinking of how they can reduce, reuse and recycle everything they consume.

If students need help or suggestions, the Husky Energy Action Team is always willing to offer solutions. Our meetings are in 322 Curry Student Center Mondays at 7:30 p.m. My advice to the Student Government Association is to help students adjust and change their bad habits. In addition, professors and deans need to understand that standards at this university have changed. President Joseph Aoun has committed Northeastern to Climate Neutrality, and their teaching techniques and printing requirements must adjust.

– Amanda O’Brien is a senior finance and accounting major and Co-director of the Husky Energy Action Team.