The Online Reflector

Students living in Roberts Hall, which was designed for upperclassmen and is more expensive than other residence halls, have reported problems with Internet connectivity. The problem mainly affects the students’ individual rooms, causing many to go to a common area within Roberts Hall or to another building on campus if they wish to connect to the Internet.

According to sophomore psychology major Laura Hurdish, a Roberts Hall resident, the problem was reported as soon as students moved into the building. Hurdish said that there are certain areas in her suite where an Internet connection is possible.

“I have to sit on the bathroom floor to get a decent Internet connection,” she said.

Hurdish also said that the majority of her homework this year is online, so she has to spend most of her time studying in the lobby of Roberts Hall instead of in her room.

“Our lobby is always full,” Hurdish said.

According to Associate Vice President for Student of Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli, the company that installed the wireless Internet routers, Logistics, came back to the building to inspect the system and determined that the reason that residents of Roberts Hall cannot get an Internet connection in their individual rooms is because of the material used to construct the building.

The walls in the building are made of aerated concrete. The density of the concrete is blocking the Internet signal that comes from routers located in the hallways and common areas.

According to Vitangeli the density of the concrete is good because it is soundproof and strong.

“Students can’t hear anything from one side to the other,” Vitangeli said. “They tell us that they can sleep almost silently, without hearing anything in the hallways.”

The solution to the Internet connection problem, according to Vitangeli, is to install routers inside each of the individual rooms of Roberts Hall.

“The speed and the usability that they [students] will get out of it will be wonderful,” Vitangeli said.

On Monday October 22, Logistics replaced all the hallway routers and then installed additional routers into each individual room inside Roberts Hall.

“It’s unfortunate that it has taken us until now to figure it out,” Vitangeli said.

Roberts Hall opened this semester and is the newest building on campus. It was designed to house approximately 170 students, with the potential to expand into the fifth floor as needed.

According to Vitangeli, the fifth floor is currently unfinished and will be completed when the university has the funds to build it and the students to occupy it. She said that the university hopes to fill it in a few years from now.

Hurdish, who lived in Cravens Hall last year, said that she does like living in Roberts Hall despite the problems with the Internet.

“It’s the middle of October,” Hurdish said. “They [the university] should have gotten it together earlier.”