stop exams = save trees

While I was browsing through facebook a while back, I saw a fanpage entitled “STOP EXAMS = SAVE TREES.” Since I was curious, I clicked on the link and discovered that it was a humorous attempt on the part of its creators to convince people, professors specifically, to stop giving exams to students since that much use of paper is causing a lot of trees to be cut down. Eventhough I knew it was mainly a joke, I entertained the idea because I was bored. I must say that I did not immediately agree. Here’s the reason why: Present technology enables professors to give paperless exams. In certain foreign universities, exams are administered online. Students are to log in on a certain website to access the exam program at the specified time window for taking it. As an added precaution against cheating, the program disables all other functions of your computer such that you cannot chat with other people nor access your files while taking the test. As a result, no paper is used; hence, no trees killed. But recently, I came across an article entitled “Does WiFi Kill Trees? Dutch Report Causes Doubt” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20101122/tc_mashable/does_wifi_kill_trees_dutch_report_causes_doubt). It refers to a research by Dutch scientists claiming that WiFi might be bad for deciduous trees in that it is killing them in urban areas where WiFi networks abound. The study supposedly also found slower growth and delayed flowering in corn plants near WiFi access points. If this is true, then the counter-argument I came up with is untenable! The paperless and modern method of administering exams online still kills trees. I now find a reason to become a fan. STOP EXAMS = SAVE TREES!!! :p

Katrina May O. Sy

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