About 60 resident computing lab consultants have begun a petition after receiving word that the Boston University administration plans to close the computer labs in the residence halls and consolidate the computer lab in 111 Cummington St. with the Mugar Memorial Library lab beginning next semester.
‘We found out the information on Friday through another party and have started a petition because it is not just about our jobs,’ lab consultant Ankush Chandra said. ‘This affects the entire student body.’
Although there are groups looking at the different areas of information technology in hopes of ‘maximizing efficiencies and reducing redundancies,’ no final decision about the labs has been reached, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. President Robert Brown said at a Jan. 22 town hall meeting for faculty and staff that administrators will look into reorganizing eight administrative offices, in an attempt to bridge the $10 million budget gap.
‘It’s premature at this point to say anything definitively,’ Riley said.
The groups are meant to look at the different offices and make recommendations to Brown, Riley said. Administrators announced April 3 that University Computers will be consolidated with the Personal Computing Support Center as part of Brown’s plan.
In addition to the petition, a letter has been sent to Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore from the’ consultants and a resolution to protect the computer labs will be put up for a vote at the Student Union General Assembly Monday, Chandra, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said.
Chandra said the dorm computer labs serve as a major resource for many students because not everyone has laptops or the software provided by BU.
‘It is also a quiet study area for students where they have access to the Internet and software, such as Photoshop and the full Adobe suite,’ Chandra said.
Lab consultant Shaun Mahal said he thinks the dorm computer labs were necessary.
‘The labs are always full to around 75 to 80 percent capacity on average, so this seems like a decision that was made hastily,’ Mahal, a School of Management junior, said.
Mahal said the petition aims to create an open dialogue between the students and the administration.
‘We are supposed to be a forward, sophisticated school to which people are paying top dollar to attend, and it is disturbing that we can’t provide basic services,’ Mahal said.
CAS freshman Heather Sun said she was concerned about the safety of shuttling across campus to reach a printer.
‘I would be very concerned for the freshman living at West [Campus] next year, since it is dangerous to walk to central campus at night, especially in the winter,’ Sun said.
CAS sophomore James Seibel said computer lab closings would burden all students.
‘ ‘I can’t imagine what the alternative of these labs will be, how the administration can raise prices on tuition and further burden the students,’ Seibel said.
Riley said students should wait until Brown has made an official decision before taking action.
‘The services and needs of students are still going to be met,’ Riley said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
