Well, the Internet’s down again. Maybe not completely shut off, but a majority of the campus is experiencing intermittent failures and general slowness. Shoot.
Gamers from Potter Hall to the HPs can’t play anything because of some glitch nobody saw coming.
Having trouble connecting to our own Linfield e-mail should not be a problem anyone should have. Getting kicked off three times trying to post this online, well, that just makes me frown.
I’ve got friends going abroad this semester, and Skyping them has become a priority for me. I’m starting to think it might be faster to send them letters or maybe swim across the ocean. It would be less frustrating than being disconnected every three minutes.
I don’t know anyone in ITS. I’ve never met any of the workers, and I don’t know any of the work study students. I don’t know what their daily schedule looks like, and I don’t know if they spend their days actively working or acting like Jim Halpert. I’m not even sure how many there are; that alone troubles me. I just don’t know. My ignorance means that I can’t attack them personally without being incredibly wrong, and I certainly don’t intend to.
All I want is Internet that consistently works and Internet that is somewhat fast. Now, I’m not asking for amazingly fast, super-hi-speed Internet. I just need it to work, and I need it to be functionally fast.
I’m a pretty flexible guy who understands that nothing is perfect. I’m okay with the occasional issue or time of slowness during peak hours, but none of us should have to deal with it all the time.
And it seems to me that ITS has continually failed to deliver that in my three-plus years here. I don’t mean that insultingly or angrily or bitterly. I don’t mean it on a personal level. I mean that among students, there is a sense of continual disappointment. Our expectations have not been met.
Getting to the root of the problem is not so easy. I will hazard a guess at what I consider is the most plausible explanation: We are witnessing a plan that was likely put forward when Linfield’s needs were much smaller and simpler. Typical of many organizations, the minimum number of resources needed were allotted to the task of fulfillment.
As technology has grown and upgrades are needed, it is possible the funds or workers for technology have remained static. The ability to build a sufficient network may be beyond the capabilities of our technology workers. That’s what it feels like, anyway.
Even so, this output is unacceptable. A clear re-evaluation of technology services is in order. The Internet is a lifeline for all of us and Linfield should be making this a priority.
Serviceable Internet is all I’m asking for. It’d be a great improvement. A few more resources invested into our technology services, and the Internet could go from a weakness to a strength.
This isn’t a technology failure, this is a Linfield failure.
You can do better Linfield. We need better.
-Internet is a downer

Matthew Olson can be reached at [email protected]