Round 1
Anthony Lackey – During conversations with fellow MTU students it has come to the surface that there is a question as to how useful the new makerspace, called the Alley, is to Tech students. For those who may not know, this space consists of tools and equipment available to use for 3D printing, woodworking, electronics, crafting, sewing and more. This space is available to students at no cost. This facility is located in the basement of the MUB and is open Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. For many students this service gives them access to tools they would never have been able to bring to college and store in a dorm room, let alone use from a location like a dorm room. For these students it gives them the ability to continue hobbies that would otherwise have had to be placed on hold while at college.
Samm Stein – The Alley makerspace does offer plenty of tools for students to use. However, it currently remains fairly unused except for events that MUB board puts on. This means that all the resources are currently being unused. Materials can be expensive. When they aren’t being used, the value isn’t being fully taken advantage of. Unless the material gets used, it’s just sitting there and continuing to create unnecessary waste for Michigan Tech. There are also concerns of what materials to buy. Right now, there are craft supplies in there. While those are useful for some projects, a majority of the projects should be focused on engineering. The materials that I’ve had experience with there are not super useful or directed towards the majority of students on campus.
Round 2
Stein – With heavy equipment and potentially dangerous projects, there is a high risk of injury. While students must get trained, that does not eliminate the safety hazards. The equipment also has the potential of breaking. Repairing it could be costly. The current tools were provided by Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation. If equipment breaks and they won’t come in to fix it, Michigan Tech will have to cover the costs of maintenance and repairs. Having equipment down for repairs also would limit the use of the space. Fewer students would have access to equipment due to the limited equipment. This is already an issue given that there are limited workspaces available for students to access. Assuming multiple teams needed to work at once, it would quickly get too crowded to comfortably work.
Lackey – To combat this problem The Alley has options like open hours, which create a set of 24 hours between Monday and Thursday that they are open to give students access. While it is true that The Alley could have monetary troubles in the future, it currently has all of the tools to manage basic repairs for the equipment through their own self-sufficiency. Additionally they can approach advisors like the machine guys in the MEEM to seek help in diagnosing and repairing damaged equipment and potentially reducing cost by providing their own labor directly from the student population. The space is intended to be a learning environment for all types of engineers, so what better way is there to learn and grow than to solve problems?
Round 3
Lackey – While MTU is an engineering college, not all students want to be engineering all the time. The Alley offers creative outlets that differ from traditional workshops on campus by bringing students into a hands-on environment that supports nearly any idea. With access to a woodshop, a set of 3D printers and plenty of floor space, students can use epoxies, adhesives and various design schemes to bring concepts quickly to life. Through the many workshops that are offered, students can utilize dedicated workshop hours to pursue concepts generated during the last creative session at the Alley. Students come from communities where they were a part of events that focused on creative outlets like arts and crafts, and many people take heart from crafting a simple picture frame or popsicle log cabin; The Alley provides an excellent space for students to scratch that creative itch.
Stein – The Alley is definitely a beneficial space. There is no doubt about that. The pros outweigh the cons, but there are still cons. There is a risk of monetary issues in the future, injury and a potentially distracting environment. If the Alley becomes more popular over time, it will be busier and therefore louder, crowded and possibly even dangerous. Even with set open hours, there will inevitably still be conflicts between groups of students. Many of the projects will be very space consuming. Space is limited and students may trip over each other. My argument isn’t that there is no need for such a space on Michigan Tech’s campus. I just aim to point out potential risk and issues associated with the space.
