Letters to the Editor: Skynet shortcomings and sticky situations

It seems like every time I have a test to study for, online homework to do, work on research projects to do, or I just simply want to surf the Web here on the UTM campus, the Internet doesn’t seem to work.

My friends and I are fed up with the crappy Internet service here.

I can be sitting in my apartment, ready to do some online homework, trying to expand my knowledge, but I end up not being able to do that because the Internet doesn’t want to work. Sometimes, when the Internet tries to work, I get as far as the UTM homepage and then the trouble starts. I go to log in to my UTM account and then it takes what seems like hours to load.

When it finally does load, an error page will pop up onto my screen saying, “This page cannot be found,” and then the whole process of trying to log in starts all over again.

One night when the Internet was acting crappy, I conducted a small experiment. First, I was at my apartment on my laptop trying to get online to check my UTM email. As usual, it would not load. I waited 30 minutes and still my UTM email would not load.

Next, I left my apartment and went to the 24-hour computer lab to see if the school’s computer would let me log in and check my email there. I sat down and got logged in and clicked the Internet icon. When the UTM homepage came up, I thought for sure I could log in successfully, but, oh, how I was wrong. The school’s computers would not let me log in to check my UTM email either. I then typed in Facebook to see if I could log in there and that didn’t work either.  

Outraged, I logged off the computer and headed to the UC to talk to the ITS desk. Once I got there, I asked, “What is going on with the Internet service on this campus? Did the university switch to a different Internet service provider or something?”

The guy at the desk told me that the campus is still using the same Internet service provider. I looked at the guy in disbelief. He then told me that other students had come in and asked questions about the same problem. I said OK, and I left.

I do not know what is going on with the Internet service here, but I hope that it gets fixed soon, especially before finals. With all of this money that is being spent on construction work on campus, I would at least think we could use some of the money on better Internet service.

I’ve particularly noticed that from about 7:30 p.m. to about midnight, the Internet doesn’t want to load. That leads me to believe that our Internet service here must run off solar panels, because once it gets dark outside the Internet doesn’t want to work.  

If anyone knows what is up with the Internet service, then perhaps that person should let the students know. I am pretty sure that I’m not the only one fed up with this crappy Internet service. It’s obvious that UTM likes to fix things on campus (just look around), but what the campus really needs to fix for us is the Internet service.

Jonathan Garrison

Natural Resources Management Senior

I am a member of the 2011-2012 class of Leaders in Residence, and I have been chosen to speak on their behalf on a matter concerning the entire UTM campus.     

Several weeks ago Tim Nipp, the director of the Physical Plant, told us that gum on the sidewalk is a significant problem on campus.  

So, armed with plastic gloves and paint scrapers, we did our best to rid the school of unsightly gum blobs.

The black splotches can be seen all over campus.  Take a look at any sidewalk next time you’re walking; you’ll probably see dozens of pieces within a few steps, even on the lesser used routes.  The sticky wads distract from the beauty of the Quad and the educational role of the academic buildings.

However, how can we expect visitors to respect the quality of our school if we don’t even respect it enough ourselves to put our gum in the trash?

Unfortunately, the most troubling fact was that the layer of fossilized chewing gum was thickest…directly around the garbage cans.  Fellow students, your attempts to dispose of your snacks are valiant but useless if you only spit in the general direction of a bin.  You won’t be late for class because you took the extra second to remove the gum from your mouth and place it in the trashcan.  We have attempted to make things even easier by asking for more trashcans to be placed around the University Center.

As students, we should take pride in our campus.  Throwing gum in the trash doesn’t take much effort, and effects are far-reaching.  No one will have to worry about stepping in fresh gum, and we can take pride in the appearance of our campus.  So please, from one student to another, put your gum in a trashcan.

Madilyn Peay

English Freshman