Don’t be alarmed if you hear something smash against the wall and shatter into a thousand pieces. It’s only my laptop. It can be replaced. It’s my sanity that’s slightly less dispensable. And both are on the line. Or offline, to be more accurate.Spotty wireless, slow page loading, dysfunctional Ethernet. The abysmal Internet connections on campus have finally brought me to my knees.
In an age where technology is constantly improving, Guilford seems to be determined to resist the trend.
New projects have sprung up all over campus – a new fitness center, resurfaced tennis courts, a remodeled cafeteria – but our IT&S Department has received little attention and even less funding.
“It’s a big problem, actually,” said senior and IT&S worker Lopie Rhine. “We’ve been trying to push for things like wireless Internet all over campus and it’s just not happening. It hasn’t had priority.”
Talking about priorities, especially when it comes to funding, is never a simple discussion at Guilford because it requires the administration to take into account the wide variety of interests that are represented in our diverse student body.
If there’s one thing that every Guilford student has in common, however, it’s the fact that we all rely on the Internet to keep our lives running smoothly. Improving our IT&S Department is one investment that would make everyone happy.
So why isn’t the department being funded adequately?
While I posed this question to Chief Technology Officer and Director of IT&S Kyle Johnson, he preferred not to comment due to the editorial nature of this article. The answer remains buried.
“I don’t know the inner politics of it,” said Rhine. “But it’s just kind of hard to see a lot of sports things getting funding over IT&S.”
Frustrations are not limited to IT&S staffers.
For the past two weeks, my roommate, sophomore Michelle Severance, has struggled with an inconsistent – at times nonexistent – Internet connection in our room in Bryan Hall. Shifting frantically between wireless and a faulty Ethernet connection, she would prop her laptop in various strange locations in an attempt to get connected to the Internet.
At times, she’d erupt.
“I am so fed up with this (explicit) connection!” she shouted from across the room one day. “I hope you put that in your (explicit) article. I hope you quote me word for word.”
Severance put in a work order several days ago, and IT&S fixed the connection as best they could given the circumstances. It turns out that the wall jack is slightly broken. The wireless connection, they explained, is weak because it’s actually coming from Bauman. Bryan doesn’t technically have wireless.
Neither do any of the other dorms except for Milner Hall and a few apartments. Nor does Dana Auditorium. Nor does the majority of Frank Family Science Center. And the list goes on.
As frustrating as it is, the situation doesn’t have to be hopeless. We as students have a certain amount of say in what programs are funded. If enough people started to demand better IT&S capabilities on campus, it could become a reality.
Guilford’s administration is more responsive to its students than those of most colleges, and this is a fact that we should appreciate and use to our advantage.
Furthermore, Guilford students have always prided themselves on activism and their ability to bring about systemic change. Over the years, this school has seen countless marches, vigils and small student movements, many of which have had an impact on campus policies.
Organizing a campaign to improve our IT&S department isn’t the kind of social activism for which Guilford’s famous but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be as equally effective.
If enough people came together to clearly express their concerns and frustrations to student leaders, Student Government Association, and the administration, I’m confident that we would see changes.