WiFi: An Ultimate Guide for the Best Connection

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photo credit: Goucher College IT

Welcome back to Goucher! As the semester starts, we are all getting re-adjusted to early mornings and late nights, meaning hours spent on homework. On January 25th, IT informed students, via email, that there will no longer be a GoucherMultiMedia server. Because of this, I thought I would give a little update on the best places to connect to our WiFi servers. The last thing we need is to be stuck with poor WiFi connection, especially when turning in an assignment at the last minute. Whether you do this from your dorm, or the middle of Van Meter Highway, minutes before it is due, here are some of the best, and worst, spots on campus to connect online.

Mary Fischer Dining Hall: this is mostly a great place to connect to the internet. The front room, yes, the one overlooking Van Meter Highway, has great and speedy WiFi. Feel free to go there in the morning to work on some homework while eating breakfast. The back room, however, is not so great when connecting to WiFi. Sure, it may say that you’ve got full bars, but the speed is spotty, many times making me have to disconnect from it to check something as simple as my email on my phone.

The Outdoor Classroom: this is the cluster of rocks outside of Van Meter. What a lovely place to sit outside, either between classes, even during class if your professor decides to hold class outside. I would suggest bringing a book or pre-downloading anything you may need off the internet, however, because the WiFi is not so great at this spot. Do not let this discourage you from getting your daily dose of vitamin D, though, especially once the weather starts getting warmer and more pleasant to be outside.

Van Meter and Julia Rodgers: two of our lovely academic buildings, so of course the WiFi is pretty good. The only days that it’s slow is either when the server is down, or when there is some-sort of over-flow of users. In this case, you may need to go back to good old-fashioned handwriting with your note-taking, and hope that the professor will be able to continue class without needing the internet.

The Athenaeum: this is a great hotspot, whether you are in the Ath by Alice’s or at the very bottom floor of the Library. So, sit down and enjoy a drink and snacks from Alice’s while you work on that five to seven-page essay that is due in a couple of hours or days. If you need deep focus, find a comfy spot/desk on a quiet floor in the library. If you want to be able to work with friends, work in the Info Commons by the desktop computers. Or, if you are like me and like to have a possibility of running into friends, sit at one of the high tables that overlook the Hyman Forum. This spot gives you a great chance to sit and focus, but still be joined with friends and you can both be social, or quiet while working. No matter where you are, anywhere is a great place in the Ath and Library to stay connected to the WiFi.

Great Lawn: this is where everyone will be once the weather goes above sixty degrees and the sun is out and shining. Unfortunately, like the ODC, this is not a great place to stay connected to the WiFi. Simply download what is needed, or try to grab a spot on Alice’s Patio which has pretty decent connection. Sure, you may not be able to stream music without wasting away your data, but the great lawn is a wonderful place to relax. Perhaps the faulty connection is purposeful, making us have to socialize with others.

So, here you have it! Your ultimate guide on where to find some of the best WiFi on campus. Thank you to the IT Department at Goucher for keeping our connection as fast as possible, and for keeping us up to date when it is down. Let us not let our connection fail, and hope for a great semester of WiFi connection.

Juliana Block is a sophomore from San Francisco, California, and is a Communications and Media Studies major. She runs the social media part of the Q and is a writer as well. She participates in dance on campus and is an avid hammocker (when the weather is not too hot of course). One of her biggest loves is photography, so be sure to keep an eye out for her taking pictures! This is her second semester writing for the Q.

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