The student union at Memorial University’s Grenfell campus is asking the administration to reimburse students the $100 cost of on-campus Internet service, saying persistently spotty connections mean students aren’t receiving the service they’re paying for.
Vicky Quao, the union’s vice president, said Wi-Fi on campus has been out since the start of winter term, causing students to spend time, effort and money ensuring reliable connections.
In December last year, the campus network suffered a cyber attack, resulting in the inability to access the Internet. The consequences force students to leave campus, connect to the Internet in coffee shops or increase their cellular data plans.
In addition to the financial burden, there is also an emotional toll, Kua said.
“International students have to go around town trying to connect to the internet so they can connect with their families,” she said.
“One girl told me her mother was so scared because she hadn’t heard from her.”
Printing is also an issue. The cyberattack compromised the computer network on campus that connects printers. Currently, she said, there is only one computer on campus that has access to a printer.
The government has installed cellular hotspots on campus, but Guo said the hotspots are weak and can easily disconnect.
“We pay to get those services. So if we don’t get those services, the only right thing to do is give our money back. When you’re able to provide us with services, we can pay it off next semester.”
The government says most problems have been resolved
Ian Sutherland, vice president of campus, said students and faculty have faced challenges since the cyberattack, but most have been resolved.
He said the administration held a meeting with the student union last week and they were discussing potential solutions. However, he did not promise any results.
“Things feel a lot more normal than they did eight weeks ago when this all started,” he said.
“We have a lot of workarounds and we’re functioning normally, but there are still some things that definitely won’t return to normal service levels on campus.”
Download our Free CBC News App Sign up for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador push alerts. Click here to visit our landing page.