The Cynic Will Exact Vengeance Upon: IP Communications, LeTourneau IT, and the LU Board
The internet at LU sucks. This is relatively old news, as the internet at LU has sucked for time immemorial. You hear about the cutting edge? We're at the ass end of the knife... we don't even end up on the blade most days. Our technology around here is so behind every other university it's attrocious, especially when you realize we're supposed to be a technically-oriented school. When we don't even measure up to other Christian Liberal Arts schools, you know we have issues. And that was before IP up and screwed us over.
For those of you who are technically literate, we had two ISP's, IP Communications and KMC Digital. IP was providing us 2 T-1's and KMC had our other 1. They were being routed together with some load balancing so that essentially all were being used and everyone got optimal (for LU) speed. And then at the beginning of February IP informed us that they were going belly-up and were stopping service to Texas. What this means essentially is that we're working at 1/3 power as of today and will continue to be doing so until the end of the week. And it blows.
It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that LU really shouldn't be using these cut-rate ISP's that we keep turning to. And IT should really just go tell the board that we need a real internet connection like a T3 for the size and technical nature of the student body. But instead, we listen to the old-ass board members tell us that we should be grateful that we have a T-1 at all and IT tells us to shut up when they shut off our ports because we use the wrong first name according to their information. If our IT was a real ISP, we would ditch them, tell them to go to hell, and get a real ISP. Instead, we pay for this shit and HAVE to use their service because using a dial-up is forbidden, as is getting any other form of ISP. So, if you're a full-time student at LU and you don't have the option of moving off-campus, you're forced to take the shitty internet connection along with all of the other crap on campus like the mandatory 20-meal plan if you don't live in the apartments. Is LU all about giving us the shaft? You'd better believe it. And to top it off, they censor the damned student newspaper. I love LeTourneau... and I'd love it more if the Board all resigned and got competent replacements, if Bud left, and if IT started caring about more than their own power trips. Good luck there...
Posted by Vengeful Cynic at February 18, 2003 02:06 AM