NYU MakerSpace

There are few staff in the Makerspace who have any sort of competence in their ability to assist students hoping to complete projects, especially on a deadline. I have spent over 24 hours over the past 5 days working to print a 3D model for my student’s presentation at NSF STEM Day and not only did it take until the fourth day for any of the MakerSpace staff to understand how to properly convert my file, but they cancelled my print job 4 times, twice without knowing where it had gone, with a variety of excuses that were increasingly implausible. I have been trained on each of the 3D printing devices offered at Metrotech, and have abided by each of the rules set in place to keep the printers accessible to all, and yet every time that I left my print out-of-sight for even an hour Cinerita Andrandes and her team would find a way to prevent its completion. Today, for example, the last day before NSF STEM Day, one of her staff cancelled my student’s project halfway through printing because they misread the time on the device, leaving my student with only a couple half-printed projects for his first-ever showcase. Cinerita Andrandes defended this failure, saying that I should have let her know to keep an eye on her staff for my particular project, that I should expect nothing more unless I use a paid printer. You’d think that the staff working in NYU’s MakerSpace wouldn’t have to be “kept-an-eye-on” by students and would make an attempt to support those working in their facility. Thank you to TA Milo and TA Sophia for being the only people I have had the opportunity of working with in the MakerSpace who seem to have students’ interests at heart and any sort of pride in their position in the STEM field. Overall, NYU MakerSpace should do better and not have to rely on students to manage their incompetent staff.