Pass: Blue book exams save print fees

As the cost of printing passes from the university to the student body, it’s a good thing not every student has to pay seven cents a page to take an exam.

Many students are beginning to take their first round of exams. If you’ve taken short answer or essay exams you’ve probably taken a test using a blue book exam. These books with a few sheets of loose leaf ruled paper are required by several professors, especially in the English Department, for handwritten exams.

The Village Commons Bookstore hands out blue book exams for free; however, students are allowed to take only two per visit.

Last year, students were allocated a sum of $14, but those funds were cut in half to $7 for student printing, according to a Monday Northern Star editorial.

If students are required to type and print out their essays then the cost of printing is pushed on students.

Blue books, which the VCB hands out, are a cost-effective measure for students to take essay tests for free.

Students shouldn’t have to pay to take tests, even if it’s only seven cents per page. Soon, printing won’t be free at NIU. Plus, it doesn’t hurt for students to get away from the keyboard and write using the classic No. 2 pencil.

Fail: Protest bombs Friday afternoon

Witnesses say a woman vandalized university property by applying red paint to the Martin Luther King Jr. Commons in an unusual public protest about students wasting their time in school, according to a Monday Northern Star article.

At the scene, a can of paint and a plastic fork were visible but not the woman. Fleeing before university police arrived, the woman didn’t leave any coherent evidence of her demonstration’s message, even with painted red markings on some of the trees and the cement.

It appears the public demonstration was not conducted seriously. All the brief public demonstration succeeded in doing was creating a public nuisance for the university police, baffling a few bystanders and kindling enough interest to write this Fail.

If the unidentified protester wanted her message heard by students, she should’ve remained in the area and accepted the consequences, as is done for most peaceful protests. Maybe a sign, a speakerphone or some chalk would’ve been more impactful, especially during a busier time slot than Friday afternoon, when the MLK Commons is deserted.

Change takes dedication, not little events with fleeing protestors. I wonder if we’ll see more of this mysterious figure.