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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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

With more Wi-Fi, problems persist

The University is halfway toward accomplishing its goal of an entirely wireless campus, but there remains frustration among some students about the inconsistency of the network.

About half of all campus buildings – including the Academic Center, Ivory Tower, 1957 E Street, Thurston Hall and Duques Hall – have at least some wireless coverage. The University plans to implement campuswide wireless by next summer, said Rachel Blevins, a spokeswoman for Information Systems and Services.

Some students reported having difficulty connecting, with their sessions getting timed out. Blevins said in a statement that students have reported “intermittent connectivity issues” with GWireless, something that network engineers are working to resolve.

“I’m definitely frustrated with (the wireless network),” junior Christa Devine said while on her laptop in Ivory Tower. “I can’t even get on.”

Devine said wireless is also difficult to use in her residence hall, The Dakota.

Taylor Woodbury, a graduate student, said he uses the wireless “all the time,” despite persistent technical problems.

“It’s pretty frustrating . you get kicked off a lot, it seems like,” said Woodbury, who uses wireless at Gelman Library, the Law School and Duques Hall.

“I sort of notice the same problems all over the place,” he added, noting that he prefers GW’s wireless network to the Law School’s separate network.

Blevins said that students should address their questions and concerns to Student Technology Services, either through the support hotline, walk-in support or the GWireless desk in Gelman Library.

Due to problems with the wireless system, freshman Ariel Warmflash said she now plugs her computer into the ResNet Internet system.

“I used to use the wireless but now I plug in my computer because it got so irritating when everyone was trying to use the wireless,” said Warmflash, a freshman in Thurston Hall. “It was just easier to use the ResNet.”

But Warmflash said she has had positive experiences with wireless in the Marvin Center, where she easily logged in, checked her e-mail and downloaded a file from the Blackboard Web site. She added that the file downloaded more slowly in the Marvin Center than in her room.

After requests for comment this week, Blevins released a statement to The Hatchet on Wednesday evening concurrently with an identical Infomail to the GW community.

Due to a production error, the final paragraph of this article was omitted from the print edition.

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