Dan Gelfand/The Hoya A university-ownd townhouse
In an effort to update Georgetown’s infrastructure and foster a greater sense of community for students, InterHall released a report last week which recommended upgrading the university townhouses to provide high-speed Internet access.
According to the report compiled by InterHall Vice President for External Affairs Gilbert Cruz (COL ’03), Georgetown ranked 77 out of 100 colleges in terms of technology and Internet accessibility in a recent Yahoo Internet Life survey. A major determinant in this low ranking is the fact that the university townhouses, which house approximately 425 residents, are currently not wired for Ethernet or any other high-speed Internet access. Students must instead rely on modem connections which have much slower connection speeds and tie up phone lines.
“A major issue [for students] is the speed because they’re limited to 56K modems,” Cruz said. “In a five-person townhouse, no one can use the phone when someone is on the Internet.”
The report also indicated that the discrepancy in Internet access between the main campus and the townhouses tends to alienate students living there. Since the townhouses are part of university housing, it suggests they should be subject to the same benefits as the other residences.
“I want to emphasize the importance of connecting the 400 or so people in the townhouses,” Cruz said. “It sends a sign to students that the university cares about them.”
According to Cruz, the prospect of physically rewiring the townhouses has been deemed unfeasible by the university. It would require major street construction, individual wiring to each residence and cost over $900,000 by university Information Service’s estimate. As a result, the report suggests a wireless Internet option which would be far cheaper, have none of the structural inconveniences and could still provide high-speed access.
The report indicates that such a project would involve “infrared, satellite-type technology,” eliminating the need for physical wiring. Cruz said that UIS is hesitant to implement this project at present because of the transitional nature of the technology and fears of its becoming obsolete. The earliest possible implementation would be in the fall of 2002.
Included in the report were the results of a survey distributed to each townhouse residence by InterHall. According to this survey, 66 percent of students were unaware of the university’s free dial-up service and instead pay for their own Internet Service Provider, such as America Online. Those that use the dial-up service must endure automatic disconnection every 20 minutes. Sixty-nine percent of respondents pay for a second phone line and many students report not having access to Hoyanet cable.
The survey also indicated that the most common uses of the Internet for townhouse residents are for e-mail, academic research, leisure, resume and job related tasks and Georgetown’s Blackboard 5 service. Respondents were frustrated by the inconvenience of having to go to campus computer labs to get high-speed access.
“They’re being denied a major part of what other students have,” Cruz said.
The report was compiled as a result of a meeting between representatives of InterHall and UIS in mid-April. The administration wanted a student perspective on the matter and specific reasons for the need to wire the townhouses.
Although UIS has suggested the possibility of a wireless pilot program for the townhouses, there are no definitive plans at this time.
