The lifeblood of a modern student is their internet access, and in Pagliaro Selz Hall, most often referred to as P-Selz, the freshmen have a problem. WiFi speeds, both in dorms and common areas have been a consistent issue and have made daily tasks far more difficult than they need to be. While writing this very report, I had to switch from the Goucher WiFi to cellular data just to load a three minute interview recording on my phone.
Residents of P-Selz might find themselves stuck on two bars or indefinitely loading, and there seems to be a definitive culprit. According to Mary Zynn’s May 4th, 2018 Quindecim article, Perspectives on Pagliaro Selz: The First Building in the First Year Village, the then-president of the school, José Antonio Bowen, spoke about how WiFi speeds in P-Selz were increased in common rooms while dorm rooms were left without the upgrades. This was intended to increase student interaction, prevent isolation, and increase retention rates in first year students. Now this “trait” of P-Selz is nothing but a constant headache for residents attempting to use modern technology in the comfort of their own rooms.
“WiFi has been really, really bad, like it’s kinda disheartening sometimes with how much money I spend to go here and I can’t even work instagram… sometimes Canvas and my email wont load either which is also very disheartening because I need those things to do work”, said Chase O’Bryan ‘29, a second floor resident of P-Selz. “My dorm room is where I encounter most of these problems.”
Another resident on the third floor, Chezzie Milani ‘29, is going through similar issues.
“It’s not great… in my room, especially. I have to use cellular data if I want to go on YouTube or Instagram or anything, really…Canvas doesn’t load in my room.” Chezzie said, “I have an online tutor and we meet three times a week, and I usually try to find a good place that I can have a Zoom call that’s usually an hour and a half to two hours long…The internet has popped up as a constant reminder as to how dogshit it is… every five to ten minutes one of our audios cuts out or something freezes.”
Chase ‘29 said “…Instagram… which is what a lot of students use to communicate sometimes just won’t work and I’ll have to get to a better spot, or just hope and pray that they read my mind and know what I’m trying to tell them.”
Nate White ’29, a third floor resident said, “I don’t ever notice huge issues, but sometimes things take a while to load or texts don’t go through, just for a couple minutes… It hasn’t impaired me too much, but it would be nice to get it fixed… I’ve heard a bunch of people talking about it, so it is a genuine problem”
Goucher says on their Residence Halls page that they “strive to match your living situation with your learning goals,” but has failed to provide an adequate internet connection, which has caused a constant nuisance to the people living in P-Selz. Decent internet connection should be expected of “One of the Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Maryland”, whether or not it was an attempt to goad students out of their rooms with sluggish WiFi speeds.
I reached out to the I.T. Help Desk, but was given a confidentiality note and they did not consent to have their comments published.
By Felipe Perez ‘29
Featured Photo by Felipe Perez
