The fonts, they are a-changin'

 In an attempt to lower the ever-rising expenses of running a college campus, Student Senate recently passed a resolution calling for a change in the default font setting on campus computers. 

The resolution, the brainchild of Senators Andy Schauer and Kyle Dill, came about after they heard of a study done at UW-Green Bay and read an article on yahoo.com about ways to save money on printing costs. The resolution calls for a change in the default font on school computers to Century Gothic, size 10. It is the most ink efficient, yet readable font setting, according to printer.com. According to Schauer's initial estimate on the basis of the Green Bay study, the change in font would save up to $10,000 a year on printing. As new information came to light, expectations were tempered to a more likely number of $1,000-$2,000.

The initial attempt to pass the resolution at a previous meeting was met with resistance. While some considered the attempt to save money an easy decision, it was presented more quickly and in a different manner than most Student Senate business, and according to Schauer, "A lot of people just wanted to stick to the process."

 He blamed himself for bringing it up too quickly, saying, "The information was just so new to everyone," and that they needed time to process it. The extra week allowed for the chance to gauge how the change would affect the school, and allowed for more realistic expectations.

The overall decision to change the font is not under Student Senate jurisdiction. Rather, it falls to the IT department, and more specifically, the Chief of Information Officer, John Tillman, to decide on whether changes will occur: an unlikely scenario without student and faculty support. Certain departments call for specific font settings for student work and may not be willing to change. Others may simply have a more personal font preference. 

Public Relations Director Zac Rockefeller claimed that the Century Gothic font simply "doesn't look good." The change itself would only affect the default setting; students and faculty would still be able to change the font as they desire.

The potential for savings is greater than the new savings estimate. Students who transfer their work from their personal computer to print on campus will retain their initial font, and, as previously mentioned, many classes have their own requirements in regard to font choice. A large portion of campus toner use comes from the printing of PowerPoint slides, something not covered in the resolution. If a more widespread effort to change occurred, then the possibility for savings would increase. 

While the initial desire of Schauer was to give the savings to students through extra funds in individual pay for print accounts, the decreased savings estimate, as well as the savings themselves being spread across multiple departments, makes it unlikely to happen. That decision is also made by the IT department.