Thousands of students flood into campus computer labs each day, causing overwhelming lab traffic at times.

“The computer labs in Barsema are constantly full,” junior finance major Jeremy Lorenz said. “Sometimes it’s a five to 10 minute wait just to get access to a computer.”

With more professors putting notes and presentations on Blackboard, more students are printing materials for class.

“I print out around 20 pages a week for classes,” Lorenz said.

In 2008, more than 17.5 million pages were printed off in campus labs. “Just today, I had one student print out 2,098 pages at one time,” IT Manager Chuck Schumann, Jr. said.

The labs in the Holmes Student Center and the library are generally the most heavily trafficked.

“The University Computing Lab in Graham Hall is actually the largest general access lab on campus,” Schumann said. “But most students don’t even know it’s there.”

On the first floor of Altgeld Hall, a 48-seat computer lab sits empty for most of the week. The lab is sometimes used for seminars and overflow classes but typically remains vacant.

“If it’s one of the largest labs on campus and not being used very often, they should open it up for everyone,” freshman sociology major Kordero Hunter said.

The Academic Computing Operations and Support division of Information Technology Sections is encouraging professors who are interested in using the lab to contact the department.

Other than that option, budgetary constraints are giving ITS little wiggle room to relieve the congestion.

“Don’t wait five minutes before class to print out materials is the best advice I can give,” Schumann said.

» Next Campus Article: Blotter: Feb. 26