Re: safety glasses
 

I had the same question a few years ago, so I asked a few of my students. The answers basically came down to a few things:

• They thought the communal glasses were gross
• The lenses were scratched up and hard to see through
• The glasses didn't really fit and that made them uncomfortable

We solved the first by ending the communal safety glasses box (we still have some team glasses on hand for visitors and the occasional student who needs to borrow a pair) and instead making each student responsible for their own pair. That mostly solved the second issue as well - with the communal safety glasses, one or two careless students could scratch up all the safety glasses - now they only really affect their own safety glasses.

Once each student was responsible for their own pair, we were able to get appropriate safety glasses for all of them - simple ones for those who don't wear glasses, and two OTG styles (visitor specs, plus small ones for the smaller students). This helped immensely with the third issue.

Re: safety glasses
 

We largely did the same last year. Each student and mentor is issued a pair of safety glasses with the 3946 logo, either small or "over glasses" as appropriate. I'm wearing mine in my WAI; you can see the logo below my right eye (left in photo). We bought a bunch so replacements are fairly cheap. We still keep a plastic sheet of pockets (I think it's intended to hold shoes) on the wall of the workshop, just inside the main door, full of our old safety glasses for those who lose/forget their own.