To the Editor:
I'm glad to see that the University was able to shake loose some $700,000 to install wireless access points in all the dormitories. However, as a student who actually runs through the rat race every day of the week, I can honestly say that I think there are more pressing needs on campus.
Every day, for instance, I walk to class on the east side of campus and sit down to listen to my lectures in chairs that must have been designed by a sadist. I bet $700,000 could buy a bunch of nice, plain-old rigid chairs that don't trap their inhabitants in a state of elastic limbo.
More blue-light phones, surveillance cameras or security guards on patrol certainly could not hurt the campus, especially in the midst of a crime spike. More licenses for common software like Microsoft Word in the College House computer labs would certainly relieve some tension and frustration come term paper season. Copies of specialized software such as MATLAB or ProE would also be well-received if purchased for the college house computer labs, as students would not need to trek all the way to the Engineering School.
Lastly, the notion that every dorm room should be served by a wireless signal as well as good-old-fashioned ethernet ports seems like a bit of overkill. I'm not an IT professional, but it is my understanding that the aforementioned ethernet ports will deliver a lot more bandwidth to residential users than even the fanciest and most state-of-the art wireless system, especially when each access point will be shared by an unspecified number of users. It's not that I don't think increased wireless coverage is a bad idea, but considering the opportunity cost of spending those extra dollars on wireless, I think that that money ought to be better spent.
Roman Geykhman
Engineering '07
