Bandwidth, daycare discussed at forum

February 11, 2008 —

Campus Internet troubles and the possibility of a daycare service on campus topped the students' agenda at the most recent President's forum.

Nursing senior Adam Schneider brought up his knowledge of an Internet virus that has been circulating campus, specifically in the University Village West.

"A friend of mine got a virus and at first I didn't think anything of it, but two to three days later I got it, too," he said. "It was a Trojan virus, and I had to reformat my computer and install new antivirus software. The virus could be running through the Village West board."

Schneider was also concerned with the University's Internet bandwidth, which has been preventing him and other students who use it for various online multimedia purposes, including playing complex games.

He requested an option through tuition to increase the bandwidth. "The service is on and off, and when it's on, I'm getting viruses."

President Gilbertson reminded Schneider of the network's intended use.

"It is set up to be an academic network. It's not meant to handle mass file sharing," Gilbertson said. "I could charge students more to increase the bandwidth for their social and entertainment needs, but how fair would it be when relatively few users need that much bandwidth?

"If enough students say, 'We want more and we'll pay for it,' it can be done, but we can't help a few without charging everyone."

Gilbertson explained more about the students who are using the University's network for file sharing among other non-academic uses. "It's a couple of users who have it bogged down, and they're not malicious people, it's just not what the network is for."

Schneider suggested the arrangement of an IT open session to spread awareness of circulating viruses and to discuss other Internet issues.

"I think it's a good idea," Gilbertson replied, who was also not previously notified of the virus Schneider spoke of, but gave assurance that IT services would be alerted. "They get on it right away," he added.

Sophomore political science major Elizabeth Calloway discussed daycare options on campus, specifically a lack thereof.

"We're looking for something for parents who currently can't come to the University with children," she said.

According to President Gilbertson, the University once had on-campus daycare center, but discontinued the service due to space issues and ongoing costs."It's not a question of 'would you like daycare,' it's a question of 'would you pay for it,'" Gilbertson said. "We would need to tax all students for what only about 50 would need. There just hasn't been the demand for it."Calloway replied with an alternative solution. "There are students on campus who need jobs and have babysitting licenses. Maybe there could be a list available of students who have time to baby-sit."

President Gilbertson explained that although such a proposal would be more complicated than it seems due to terms of licensing and liability factors, he would like to hear creative ideas on how to approach it that way.

The University will look into information on local commercial daycare operators, as well as the possibility of contacting students who are licensed babysitters.