UA provides e-mail ports

Two e-mail ports were installed in the Penn Bookstore cafe. More ports are being planned for different locations. Students have always wanted a place where they could study, get a snack, sip lattes or just hang out. And, of course, check their e-mail. Two e-mail ports on iMac computers were set up in the Penn Bookstore cafe yesterday afternoon as part of a project sponsored by the Undergraduate Assembly. The computers will allow students to have quick and easy access to their e-mail accounts and the Internet in a study area more relaxed than a library. The UA thought "it was something that the entire University could benefit from," UA Facilities Committee Chairman and Wharton junior Jonathan Glick said. According to Glick, the UA has been working on installing the computers since last June. Glick said the delay was due to the time it took to acquire the iMacs and computer tables and to activate the network ports in the cafe. The computers and tables cost the group about $5,000, he added. The UA will also be responsible for network activation costs and the $20-per-month Penn network port fee. UA member and former Facilities Committee Chairman Theo LeCompte, an Engineering junior, said the idea for the e-mail stations began in fall 1998, when the UA conducted a survey on computer lab usage and found that most students used campus computer labs to check their e-mail. Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing Jim O'Donnell suggested the bookstore as a location to the UA. And last spring, the UA made the final decision to put the e-mail ports there. "It's great that we've been working on [something that the students want], and it's a huge relief to be done." LeCompte said. Students studying at the bookstore cafe applauded the new changes. "I think it's really convenient. It'll shift a lot of people from the library to here," College sophomore Stacie Zerdecki said. "It saves me the trip of going to Van Pelt," Wharton junior Dustin Monroy added. The computers are set to the UA Web site and will likely include UA announcements in the future. Glick said the UA plans to fund more e-mail ports in the future, though their locations have not yet been decided.