A Wi-Fight for Internet Access Taints First Week

Treatise To Resolve Internet Issues Felt Across Campus

What is one of the most common things we take for granted in this day and age. I’ll give you a hint, you use it every day, it’s on your phone, laptop, even tv. If you haven’t guessed what I’m talking about let me tell it straight: Internet, Wi-Fi, whatever you call it, we need it at SLU. Our college careers run on the stuff from Accounting to Swahili majors, everyone on this campus needs that invisible gold.  

While this story may come across as a spoiled student complaining about something what some may see as a minor inconvenience, the residents of Sykes would disagree. Since the first day of the semester Sykes has been experiencing issues with its Wi-Fi network. The internet has been periodically turning off for multiple hours every day, sometimes multiple times in a row. This is a personal matter for me because I live in Sykes and would like to see the issue resolved post haste, but sadly Sykes residents haven’t even received an email addressing the issue, much to the annoyance of a significant number of students. 

 I know and respect what the Internet Technology department does for our university. It would be immensely appreciated if something was done to rectify the matter. This problem has affected the productivity of numerous students, some have even contacted I.T. and were given inadequate, vague information. Not all students work well in environments such as the library and student center. The seclusion of the library might be too little stimulation while the student center maybe too much. 

 A dormitory provides a safe and comfortable place for a student to accomplish goals and complete assignments. These continued interruptions have majorly interfered with the academic well-being of SLU students. As an educational institution, this should be a top priority, especially because it is so common for professors to assign digital work. While students continue to work towards their scholarly goals, the issue seems to continue to be overlooked. This gross negligence has left a sour taste in the mouths of Sykes residents, which I am afraid will persist until something drastic changes. In addition to the academic repercussions, the free time of Sykes residents has also been impacted. We as humans need time to relax and decompress and without the internet many students that use it for leisure suffer. Even when active the speed of the internet has been compared to that of a snail moving through molasses.  

My disappointment with our school has grown to the point where this article is necessary. I believe that there wouldn’t be any spotlight shone upon the concerns of students living in Sykes without this article. I’m begging someone from I.T. or Admin reads this and do something, but I won’t get my hopes up.