Over the summer, West Woods Suites gained access to wireless Internet while Knutti and White halls were added to the Registration network, eliminating the need for SU-Wireless.
These changes were made after years of students having to use only Ethernet connections in the suites. With only about five connections per suite, this was not an ideal situation for residents.
In a February 2013 Picket article, Emily Daniels, a then-freshman English major, commented that, “Not having wireless in the suite surprises me. To me, a suite should come with the option to at least use the wireless. I mean even McDonald’s has wireless Internet.”
Today, Daniels states that the lack of wireless Internet wasn’t a deal-breaking issue for her. “At least there’s an internet connection at all in the suites,” she said.
Current West Woods residents, however, would disagree about the necessity for Wi-Fi.
Brittany Compton, a social work major, said, “I’m glad I didn’t have to spend my own money to buy a Wi-Fi box.” Her roommate, Casi Axline-Kidwiler, an environmental major, stated, “It’s very convenient that we have Wi-Fi now, because my laptop doesn’t even have an Ethernet connection.”
Another West Woods resident, Cortney Stinson, double Psychology and Sociology major, appreciates the convenience of a wire-free connection. “I can use my laptop anywhere in my room, not just my desk,” she said.
Meanwhile on the other side of campus, IT services has completely removed the spotty SU Wireless connection and made registration the continuous network throughout Shepherd’s property. According to one IT worker, “SU Wireless was run through Frontier and was notoriously unreliable.” Students had to log on through Frontier each time they connected. Any issues or crashes had to be fixed by Frontier.
The registration network is run completely by Shepherd’s IT department. The Information Technology department has an easier time helping students connect, and can now run and fix most issues from their office below the library.
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