Can you hear me now? Roam campus and you might find that your phone is roaming as well. It might even occur in some class-rooms, or you might just have “No Service” written across the top of your screen.
While service for cellular devices and Wi-Fi signals are strong in the majority of buildings on campus, there are a few that cause a problem.
The editorial staff of The Outlook discussed the issues with having poor service, especially due to the lack of service that we experience in our office and the Plangere Center.
“For a building with students that are utilizing communication technology, and just using phones or computers for other reasons, it should be addressed. It would really help productivity if the internet connection were stronger,” said an editor.
The staff agreed that the buildings with the worst service on campus are Plangere and Wilson Hall.
“We may not get service in Plangere because of the structure or maybe some sort of reception from HawkTV or Hawk Radio that interferes with the service connections. I must say that overall the Wi-Fi service and cell phone service is fine here,” one editor said.
University officials have stated that the poor service to cellular devices in certain buildings at the fault of the service providers as well as the physical structure of the buildings. However, the Wi-Fi signal in buildings is con-trolled by the University, to which they are working on improving.
“The University could also invest in cellular boosters for the buildings with poor service. My father uses one of these at our lake house that has very limited signal and it drastically increases the bars of signal we receive,” added an editor.
Campus officials have voiced concern, and The Outlook staff agrees, that the lack of service can be an issue in instances of emergency.
“I do see this as a safety issue if an emergency situation occurs in which one would have to call the police but cannot due to the lack of service,” said one editor.
“Even my mom believes this is a safety issue, as sometimes I’m in the office on a weekend when not many other people are there and I would not be able to reach her in an emergency,” the editor continued.
While the lack of service and poor service in certain areas of campus may be a danger in cases of emergencies, there are other ways that students and individuals on campus could get in touch with the necessary services.
It was noted that there are landline phones located in nearly every classroom, which could be used in the case of an emergency.
“If there was an emergency, I would absolutely use the landline phone of the university. If I needed to get in contact with someone immediately, in a life or death situation, I would never hesitate to reach out to help myself and those around me,” added an editor.
Another editor mentioned that the landlines also re-quire different steps in order to make a call outside of the university, or to University extensions.
“I would feel uneasy about it, because I would be afraid that I wouldn’t know an outgoing call extension to contact the right person… classrooms and offices with landlines should have clear instructions on how to call out during an emergency,” said the editor.
One editor mentioned that “…the campus does have a blue light system so that resource is there for students if their cell phone is dead or they can’t get service.”
A new Blue Light system was recently installed outside of the OceanFirst Bank Center. If you have a suggestion as to where a Blue Light call box should be located, inform MUPD at 732-571-4444.
While there are concerns for buildings on campus, the majority of areas hold strong service signals. Remember that there are landlines located in all rooms and the Blue Light call boxes are located around campus in case of an emergency.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University