Author:
Dear Editor,
The new restriction on bandwidth placed upon personal computers of Occidental students is an outrage. After a five minute talk with a worker at ITS—who picked his words far too carefully—I learned the college is claiming a dispute with our Internet Service Provider (ISP) has caused them to put restrictive (throttling) software on incoming (downloading) packets. When asked when the Internet was going to be restored, the ITS tech responded, “It has already been restored, you were updated in an email last week.” Already restored? What kind of idiot did the tech, and all of ITS for that matter, think I was? I know they are not being completely forthcoming about the ISP/OXY dispute, for each phone call I’ve had with them has been just short of enigmatic. They claim Occidental’s volume of downloads has risen from last year’s to such a level that it is impossible for our Internet Service Provider to ‘provide’. They say “the Internet will slowly speed up over time as the software has a chance to gauge our traffic.” This first of all sounds like an OXYmoron, “slowly speed up?” It has become impossible to watch Destinos for Spanish class from the comfort of your own room, or to watch the show you missed from the day before. It has even become impossible to quickly load thirty-second YouTube videos.
The Mission of Occidental College is to provide the students with a TOTAL educational experience of THE HIGHEST QUALITY—one that prepares students for leadership in an increasingly complex, interdependent and pluralist world. If Occidental cannot keep tabs with the academic and personal needs of students, something they claim to do in their very own mission statement, they have ultimately failed as purveyors of a 21st century academic environment—and have let us down in preparing us for a world based upon speed, quick research, and instant communication.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
