Last week, during the barrage of disregarded all-student emails, many students missed that the student computer cluster on the second floor of Hyde would be moved to accommodate the changeover due to Boyd renovations and other organizational modifications. This move of a batch of computers left many students wandering around their usual computer hunting grounds and settling for the trip downstairs to the overcrowding Technology Learning Center.
We find this action unacceptable. Obviously there is a need to house the various displaced administrators and professors during the renovation of Boyd, but is it necessary to rob the students of a heavily used work area and jeopardize their academic achievement? Is anything worth jeopardizing the academic achievement of students?
Although construction has begun, the decision to make the switch from computer cluster to offices needs to be re-examined. The rug has been pulled from under hundreds of students’ feet, and more distressing, it has been done without any student contributions or opinions requested in the process. Were the students considered at all, or are we not important enough for this concern to affect us? This change was made far too fast and left unannounced until the point when any students’ voices were muted. Our tuition and our technology fee make our opinions a priority, on this and every other campus decision where we are ignored. Decisions like this need to include the employers of the faculty and staff— the students.