A cover sheet is an extra sheet of paper that comes with students’ printouts when they go to any computer lab at NIU. It contains the student’s z-ID number and the time of the printout.

Although it may seem like a waste of paper, officials said, there are no easy alternatives to help students know which printouts are theirs.

“The cover sheets are a way to separate each student’s printouts since we wouldn’t be able to have students run back and get their sheets together themselves, because it’s going to be a mass chaos,” said Chris Tarczon, Douglas Hall lab manager.

“We have to have some ways for the computer lab assistants to pull out and separate their printouts for the students to get it quickly and accurately,” he said.

Organization isn’t the only reason for the cover sheets.

“Privacy is another purpose of the cover sheet,” said Cory Faller, a Douglas Hall lab assistant.

Most of the cover sheets are recycled, which helps to reduce the waste.

“We have boxes for recycling so when students take their printout, they can just throw [the cover sheet] right in there instead of throwing it in the garbage,” Tarczon said.

The cost of printing is free, but students fail to realize that printouts still cost money, said Jan Gerenstein, coordinator of residential technology services.

“Some students just print their chat and e-mail messages and toss it in the garbage when they leave the lab,” Gerenstein said. “Although we use recycled paper, students should think twice before they print.”