The Campus Life Council (CLC) decided Monday to delay voting on a resolution that would point out problems with and recommend improvements to new technology - particularly wireless and cable services - in residence halls until further discussions take place.
Student Senate Residence Life Committee chair Pat Knapp presented the Residence Hall Technology Report to the CLC.
"The reason we produced this report was ... overall it's a call to action to solve the technological problems," Knapp said. "Rather than have to go and inventory everything on their own, we feel we have done that to make their job easier."
After Knapp presented the report to council members, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs G. David Moss recommended the CLC first meet with Robert Guthrie, program manager for strategic initiatives planning and programs at the University and overseer of new technology installation project. Moss recommended that the group ask Guthrie about the process for fixing deficiencies in the new technology. The CLC should question him about complications he has encountered with the new wireless and cable service and the enhanced cellular service, Moss said.
Welsh Family rector Candace Carson moved to postpone a vote on the resolution until the council talked to Guthrie at the CLC's next meeting Oct. 9.
The report listed problems students had encountered with wireless Internet availability and connection speed, cellular service and cable television feed in 17 dorms. Knapp and his committee collected the information in the report through their own personal observations and by communicating with the members of each dorm's hall council and hall senator. The information they compiled was current as of Sept. 5.
"I should stress that the Residence Life Committee - and particularly myself - are not experts in these technologies," Knapp said. "We just know these problems exist."
The committee found slow wireless service in many of the dorms, particularly at the end of hallways. Some halls, like O'Neill and Pasquerilla East, reported slow service throughout the dorm. The committee recommended the installation of additional routers to enhance the wireless signal.
Cell phone reception grew progressively worse in dorms farther away from the cell tower located behind South Dining Hall on West Quad, Knapp said. North Quad and Mod Quad also reported poor cellular reception, he said. The committee recommends an additional cell phone tower, he said, unless there is a better solution.
The committee found few problems with cable television. The only dorms that reported difficulties were Badin, Fisher, and Keough, Knapp said. The report recommended dealing with these problems on an individual basis.
In other CLC news:
Student Voice and Input Task Force chair Liz Brown said her committee discussed student involvement in planning the college town, how to address global health issues stemming from the academic forum and decided to work on compiling a tentatively titled "Du-Lac for Dummies" - a summarized version of the important elements of the student handbook.
At their meeting, the Conduct Awareness task force discussed alcohol-related problems associated with dorm "Dis-Orientation" activities in the beginning of the year, chair Bill Andrichik said.
