On Feb. 18, junior Aryel Abramovitz found himself in a bind. On B level of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library two hours before class, he was unable to connect to the Hopkins internet network.
“I had a class at noon, and I needed to print something out for it, and the Internet was down two hours prior,” Abramovitz said. “Me and a few other students in my class weren’t able to print out the assignment that was due at noon; luckily the professor was lenient and gave us a few extra hours.”
This semester, students have expressed difficulties with the Homewood campus internet and wireless systems.
“Really, it is a wireless problem, not an internet problem,” Hopkins Chief Network Officer Dean Zarriello said.
The University uses three different internet providers. This ensures that if one provider is experiencing an outage, Hopkins will not be without internet.
Most students connect to the web wirelessly through access points spaced all around campus, mainly installed in different buildings.
“Pretty much most of the campus is covered with wireless technology,” Zarriello said.
Just last year, the Hopkins Information Technology (IT) department completed a project to cover even outdoor areas with wireless internet access.
“Hopkins is such a rigorous institution, and being connected to the internet is such an important part of modern studies,” Abramovitz said.
In the middle of fall semester, the Student Government Association (SGA) created an ad hoc committee to address issues with technology and communication on the Homewood campus. The committee has since expired, but the former members — such as Senior Class Senator and member of the Student Services Committee Aaron Tessler — continue to work to improve communications and technology on campus.
“The tech committee was charged with all issues related to technology or ways that students use technology,” Tessler said. “Communication between students and the administration or students and the University related to technological issues, that could be really a wide bubble.”
SGA’s approach with respect to technology issues on campus has been to act as a catalyst for communication between the student body and the IT department.
“[SGA is] making the avenues for communication for technological problems more open and more clear to students. For example, one thing we worked on was allowing students to report bad spots of wifi in the dorms,” Tessler said.
SGA created a survey focused around where students would like to see more or better internet service on campus. This survey led to the IT department’s initiative to add more access points in outdoor areas.
The IT department underscores the importance of student feedback, whether it is from individual students or SGA. This input allows the department to make necessary improvements around campus.
“We work hard on expanding wireless coverage throughout the Homewood campus, and we would really like to know if there are certain buildings that have weaker coverage so that we can address them,” Zarriello said.
Often times, such as in Abramovitz’s situation, students refrain from contacting the IT help desk, partly as a result of the frequency in which they experience problems.
“I’m pretty used to it going up and down, so I knew it would be resolved quickly. So no, I didn’t notify anyone,” Abramovitz said.
Students usually try self-fixes instead of seeking help from the University.
“When the Hopkins internet didn’t work, I tried logging into the guest network, and that’s always a pain, so I kind of gave up on that and used my phone’s hot-spot ability,” Abramovitz said.
Zarriello outlined that the IT department is prepared to assist students with wireless issues.
“If they are really having a problem that they can’t get access to wireless somewhere, they [can] call the help desk and file a ticket, and then we can get the ticket routed to the correct group so we can have somebody follow up with them,” Zarriello said.
An online form can be found on the Hopkins website to notify the IT department of glitches in the system.
Student input is the IT department’s primary avenue for discovering what areas of campus need the most help in terms of connectivity issues. Tessler thus emphasized the importance of student feedback, highlighting the SGA’s eagerness to help improve students’ internet experiences.
“The committees want nothing more but to hear from students on what the issues are,” Tessler said.
