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Students feeling disconnected as the lack of Internet takes effect

18 September 2011 No Comment

It would seem as though postponed assignments and a lighter workload would be any college students’ dream. Even though it may be the case for some students at Mohawk, it comes at a hefty price. Due to the current strike, students have been disconnected from the Internet, turning the dream into a nightmare.

Currently, the staff that monitors the Wi-Fi is out walking the picket lines. In order to make life a little easier for students, the college has set up locations within the campus that have a limited number of computers connected to landlines.

“I have no Internet at home either,” said student Chris Belec. “It’s really tough. I’m in marketing and many of my programs require me to use the Internet.”

Belec says his professors understand, but he still has to restructure his schedule around the available computers.

The college residence is also lacking connection to the online world. This is a big concern for students living in dormitories.

Rachal Milak is a student who lives on campus. Many of her courses have yet to begin due to the strike. Milak says she’s worried about how it will affect her workload later on if she can’t do her assignments now.

“It’s really hard because my course is online and we can’t actually access many of our programs,” said Milak.

Just last week the college did its part to make the matter a little less overwhelming for those living in their home away from home. Four computers with Internet connections were installed in one of the common rooms in the residence.

However, no Internet at Mohawk College means very few students have access to online courses and homework. The school’s radio and TV shows are all broadcast online.

The directors of Mohawk’s INDI 101 are out marching the picket lines, so even though students can tune in to the station on their radio, they might not hear anything. When the strike began, show hosts were presented with the option to continue with their program or stay off the air until it came to an end.

“I’m making sure that INDI 101 remains a vital part of the Mohawk and Hamilton community,” said the host of Radio by A Dummy, John Conway. “There are other announcers who have been here longer than I and we are all concerned if the strike goes too long there could be long term effects on IND1 101’s ability to broadcast.”

Conway is one of the few hosts who have chosen to continue broadcasting during the strike.

With no end date set for the strike, students are becoming progressively concerned how this will affect their studies.

“It’s not the way we wanted to start the year, we didn’t expect that we would be in the situation that we are, but it is what it is,” said Mohawk’s Director of Media Relations, Jay Robb. “Students have really stepped up and made the best of a challenging situation and it is much appreciated how patient and understanding they have been.”

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