Something’s missing in most of LSA freshman Lauren Boumaroun’s classrooms. That something – wireless Internet – is preventing her from obtaining notes during lectures.
- Jess Cox
- A wireless laptop sits propped in front of a student. (ALEX DZIADOSZ/Daily)
- Jess Cox
- A student uses wireless Internet at the Law School. (TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily)
- Angela Cesere
- Graphic by Gervis Menzes
- Jess Cox
- An Internet cord snakes from a laptop. (ALEX DZIADOSZ/Daily)
“Many classrooms and lecture halls are limited in wireless access,” Boumaroun said. “And sometimes it’s nice to be able to access the Internet during class to get lecture notes and such.”
Like many students on campus, Boumaroun carries a laptop equipped to receive wireless Internet access.
From the Business and Law Schools to North Campus, the University has covered the interiors of many of its buildings with wi-fi hotspots. The hot spots are less common in LSA buildings.
Although wireless coverage is slowly expanding, budget cuts and the size of LSA’s footprint on campus have hindered the school on its path to achieve complete wireless internet access over its buildings.
How wireless are we?
Both Intel and the Princeton Review conduct annual surveys to rate which colleges in the nation are the most wireless. On both surveys, the University is unranked and sits far below the top-tier schools.
Despite the lack of complete coverage, University administrators hail the progress that has been made on the wireless front. They say the colleges with the greatest need for the technology can access wireless Internet anywhere in their buildings.
Aside from dorms and outdoor areas, wireless Internet covered only about 58 percent of the major buildings on campus as of last summer.