Photo by Arin DeGroff
Pepperdine will implement Wi-Fi in Jolsyn Plaza and other outdoor areas surrounding Payson Library and Elkins Plaza by the end of the month, according to Associate Chief Information Officer Kevin Phan.
The Wi-Fi located in Joslyn Plaza should be fully functional by the end of the month. Phan said about 90 percent of the areas are covered on campus, and that the 10 percent left is just because they need to fine-tune a few things and wait for construction to be done.
“We still need to tune that area [Joslyn Plaza] a little bit because we need additional wireless access points,” Phan said. “There are a few spots that are a little weak, so we want to improve those signals.”
Phan said the decision was based on student survey feedback.
“We rely heavily on the surveys and ask our students to be honest,” Phan said. “The students were honest about the Wi-Fi experience, so then we are able to make changes based on those feedbacks.”
There will be 10 access points to cover Drescher, the pool and Joslyn. There was a $10,000 cost for the cabling and equipment according to Phan. The WiFi project was created and installed by the Pepperdine Network Engineering team consisting of members Ian Rowell, John Figueroa, Dave Holden, Zorinan Kasilag and Vic Suphasiri.
Junior Masha’er Al Yami Alyami is from Saudi Arabia, and she said she needs the Wi-Fi to work to remain in contact with her family back home.
“There should be working Wi-Fi all over the campus [because it’s] important to connect with family and friends,” Al Yami said. “I use apps such as WhatsApp, Tango and Viber. I need Wi-Fi to use these apps and contact my family back home between classes.”
Junior Vatche Kazanjian said he is a frequent email checker. He said he believes that outdoor Wi-Fi is essential to be able to get school work done in an efficient manner.
“I’ve had to make unnecessary trips to the library just because the Wi-Fi wasn’t working where I was,” Kazanjian said.
Many students are constantly checking and writing emails, browsing the web and researching a variety of topics for classes. Now, they will be able to do so in an efficient and timely manner from the comfort of a picnic table outside Elkins Auditorium or Payson Library, according to Phan.
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Follow Veronica Johnson on Twitter: @Veronajohn36
