University delivers Wi-Fi in a crisis: A student's view

Jonathan Kafieh

June 29, 2020

Students get a semblance of ‘normal’ as CSUSB expands Wi-Fi to student parking areas to help with on-line learning during the ongoing health crisis.

I’m a university student with three years into a Business Technology Management degree. Till now, my life has generally consisted of running between campus and work at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, 还能给朋友留点时间. This year though, things have been thrown for a bit of a loop. So much so that nearly everything in 2020 that used to reflect my normal life has disappeared.

Since the university precautions associated with the pandemic have been in place, 我所有的课程都搬到了网上, as is the case for all of my fellow students across the country. With no end in sight I have realized that I’m more of an old fashioned classroom type of learner. I’m not much of a fan of a format where I can’t really talk to people and where getting to know new people in traditional ways is COMPLETELY out of the question. So it’s no surprise that I’m feeling a bit cheated on my ‘college experience’.

有时候事情做对了

Many students, like me, have begun to feel that some colleges and universities are just trying to keep a steady flow of ’normal’ when nothing is normal right now. 从我们的观点来看, getting everyone to jump onto a conference call and try to carry on business as usual doesn’t really cut it. While it’s fair to say that schools can’t do much as they are constrained by the world’s circumstances just like we are; there are some institutions going the extra mile to make things work just a little better. California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) is one example. ALE’s project with CSUSB to expand their Wi-Fi service into the student parking areas provides a connection both literally and figuratively that students need.

CSUSB, 是ALE的长期客户, is part of the larger California State University system which is comprised of 23 campuses across the state.  有20多个,每年有1000名学生入学, CSUSB is a melting pot of cultures and ideals, a leading contributor to their cultural diversity.

In an effort to show students that they are paying attention to their needs, CSUSB embarked on a project to provide external wireless connectivity during the pandemic, 还能帮我们结束春季学期. CSUSB knew they  couldn’t invite students back indoors, so together ALE and CSUSB came up with a solution with a classic ‘bring the services to them’ move. ALE deployed Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch® 6454 Compact Hardened Ethernet Switches to extend CSUSB’s wireless network to the outdoor parking areas so students could ‘come to campus’ and connect to the school Wi-Fi while staying out of the buildings.

This creative solution to the social distancing learning problem shows students and myself that institutions, 在这个例子中是CSUSB, 关心学生的需求. The external Wi-Fi gives students access to high-grade connectivity, 给那些没有其他途径的人, while also providing a valid reason for us to leave the house. 然而中南财经大学不是我的学校, I’m inspired by their initiative and hopeful that other colleges and universities across the country might take notice and action for their students. Personally, at this point I would give way too much to have a valid reason to pick up some boba tea and do my schoolwork outside of the house and enjoy some semblance of what my college life used to be!