The semester is coming to an end quickly, but that isn’t stunting the progress being made by Student Senate.
For years, students have been told wireless Internet was going to be provided within dorms, and senate is looking to make that happen.
“We’ve been told about wireless Internet since freshman year,” said Student Body Treasurer Patrick Campbell, who is a senior. “Lets just get this done and move forward.”
During the general assembly meeting on Nov. 23 the executive board presented and voted on a resolution to bring wireless Internet to residence halls by the fall semester of 2010.
“The mobility of students and their technology shouldn’t be limited to a 15-foot Ethernet cable.” said Student Body Vice President Tricia Anklan.
Not only does this propose that wireless Internet be installed in the dormitories on campus, but also at the St. James Apartment Complex.
“Especially in apartments, wireless Internet allows more freedom, and I think a lot of residents would benefit from wireless Internet,” said St. James Sen. Michael Konieczny. “There is no reason why the St. James Complexes shouldn’t have the same privileges as on-campus facilities.”
One of the main reasons senate believes this is an important matter to be addressed is because of the multiple problems that have stemmed from students installing their own form of wireless Internet.
The resolution reads, “In the first two days of fall semester the Technology Help Desk assisted more than 300 users with Internet issues caused by incorrectly configured routers.”
The resolution also states the students who improperly installed their routers were the cause of a university-wide Internet outage which occurred this fall.
Even though Senate is confident wireless Internet would be a great addition to the campus, Nick Swiatkowski, chairman of senate’s Technology Services and Affairs Committee is concerned the resolution will be rejected by the administration due to economic strains.
“They don’t know how much it will cost or how many units they need,” he said. “They have a lot of things to do … it probably won’t happen.”
Although this may be a large expense for Bradley, Anklan said it is a change that needs to be made.
“It is not surprising that students who pay $7,650 for room and board a year expect the most current technology,” she said. “While the cost of going wireless in the dorms may be rather large, the cost of not going wireless could be even greater.
Facilities and technology are very important factors for prospective students. I hope Bradley realizes this and invests in available technology.”
Since the resolution has been voted and approved by Senate, it will be passed on Vice President of Student Affairs Galsky, and he will present it to the administration. The administration is required to give senate a detailed response as to whether or not they approve the resolution and a detailed explanation about the decision.