Tufts Computing and Communication Services (TCCS) and Community Relations have created a computer donation program to benefit Somerville public schools.
Though it is still in the early stages and has no official name, the program of collecting and redistributing used machines is likely to begin in May and will continue throughout the summer.
No machines have been delivered yet. For now, the program will focus on the collection of machines on campus before a delivery system is developed to redistribute the computers to the schools.
To date the program has collected five computers.
It will be a joint effort between Community Relations, TCCS, Tufts Facilities, and Tufts Recycles.
Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said that the donations were a way in which Tufts was able to easily give something back to the community. "This is such an easy thing for us to do. We're in the enviable position of being able to replace computers much more frequently than small non-profit organizations, or even than the public schools in some cases," she said.
Doug Herrick, Associate Director of Data Network Operations for TCCS, felt that the new program is a "win-win situation." He remarked, "It's in the tradition of Tufts students helping other students."
The groups have discussed the project for the past two months to determine the logistics.
Rubel said that often, "We can clean the machines and donate them to people who will get several years more use out of them because their needs are less complex than ours."
The Facilities Department is responsible for identifying computers around campus which are to be replaced but can still be useful.
"Useful" is defined as anything above a Pentium 3 processor.
After the computers are identified, the hard drives and memories are wiped out, and facilities transports the computers to the schools.
"It doesn't make any sense to toss [the computers] away," Herrick said.
Herrick recalled that in the past, the method of disposing of aged computers was fairly haphazard. Many computers that were still useful were being scrapped or stored away before they were deemed truly obsolete.
An informal donation program currently exists, encouraging the University to donate old computers to places in Medford, Somerville, and Chinatown.
The new donation plan offers an incentive for everyone on campus to participate, as the cost and hassle of disposing of old computers will be taken care of by the program.
The costs for the program are minimal, as the expense of wiping the memories from the computers is cheaper than the recycling costs. Herrick hopes that the program will be one that will have a positive effect on relations between the community and the University.
Compared to previous years, state aid has decreased drastically in Somerville's annual budget for 2004. Subsequently, schools have been especially hard hit by funding cuts.
Ultimately, Rubel hopes the program will allow Tufts to be active partners in the community, and to simply do something to help the neighbors.
"There are some very creative people behind this effort. Who knows what they'll come up with next or what this concept can inspire in some other department," Rubel said. "We're all anxious to see how it develops."
