Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Letters to the Editor

Tech issues

Nearly a year ago, I shared my ideas in this very section for addressing technology issues as the Student Association’s chief information officer and as student representative to the Board of Trustees Committee on Information Technology. While much of the work has gone on behind the scenes, I am proud to report that we have made much progress.

Last semester, we posted an online survey asking where students want wireless Internet. With the help of your feedback, the Hippodrome became wireless this January. We are continuing to push for J Street access but are faced with addressing concerns of overcrowding if wireless is implemented. As a recent Hatchet article reported, wireless expansion in Gelman Library will halt after the addition of the first-floor reading room as a result of funding issues. We will continue to lobby for increased funding as long as wireless Internet remains a priority for students.

The online class wait list system is an idea we began addressing with members of Information System Services and the administration late last semester. The GWeb/Banner system supports such a feature but is turned off because each school and even individual professors at GW have different rules and requirements for signing students in. This has essentially become an academic issue that is associated with significant cost and labor. As a result, it is unlikely to be implemented anytime in the near future.

In addition, we are addressing the long-term process of moving away from using Social Security numbers, increasing communication between ISS and students when e-mail and internet outages occur, Blackboard issues and ensuring that Colonial Mail remains a stable e-mail client.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated and can be emailed to [email protected].

-J. David Grossman, junior, SA Chief Information Officer

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet