Around the country, Universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University and the University of Florida require incoming freshmen to purchase a laptop computer before coming to campus.
In the LSU Student Senate Wednesday night, Speaker Michael Busada and Sens. Jeremy Griggs and Jessica Wainwright introduced a resolution reccomending the University begin to investigate requiring all incoming freshman to possess a “mobile computing device,” or a laptop, tablet PC or another kind of mobile computing hardware by the 2005-2006 school year.
In the senate, the representatives debated the validity of requiring freshmen to purchase such an expensive class tool.
The Reveille’s editorial board believes this initiative has the potential to be a great idea. But, we have questions and hope if the resolution is passed, the investigation will be public and allow for student input.
If passed, the resolution should not be taken as a directive from the senate, but rather as a starting point for a campus-wide discussion on whether LSU is financially and technologically ready for such an endeavor. Administrators should also have open forums, polls and request student input on the subject before any action is taken.
We personally do not know all the numbers behind the initiative or where the money for this measure would come from, but we can assume that not all students can be expected to pay for these expensive machines by themselves.
Student Government President Allen Richey said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the resolution.
“The potential for this program far outweighs the costs — we must investigate if it will work here at LSU,” Richey said. “My concerns are that we have to meet the needs of the faculty, the University’s infrastructure and the student’s financial burden.”
Richey’s concerns are ours as well. How will students pay for these laptops? There are proposals involving loan and grant programs, but there would still be more money needed for maintenance and troubleshooting — how much more will this program cost the students in fees that are not covered by TOPS?
Speaker Busada echoed Richey’s concern about students being able to afford the new laptops, promising loan and grant programs that would not affect a student’s yearly financial aid award.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t stop one single person from coming to LSU,” Busada said. “We don’t want it to be a financial burden at all.”
And there are other questions, many schools requiring laptops give their students a choice between an Apple or IBM compatible computer, will we give freshman that option, and what happens if they switch their major?
Finally, we see the obvious, over-arching pros of the initiative. If implemented, LSU will move into an elite tier of Universities who require the technology, and consequently an LSU degree will carry more weight in the job market.
Unfortunately, until students can see the financial numbers, no quick judgements can be made.
We recognize that changing with the times (or even ahead of the technology) is important if we want to become a National Flagship University. Technology is essential to the future of education, but at this stage in the game, the questions still outweigh the proven answers.