Tech Journal: How to make BC a pioneer in college technology

Boston College purports itself to be at the forefront of technology by implementing today's advances on campus. However, there are certain aspects of the technology at BC that are outdated compared to those of similar universities, and there are also some advances that could make BC one of the most technologically advanced campuses around.

The on-campus post office is a source of headaches for a number of BC students. In addition to its inconvenient location for most campus residents, the system by which students are notified that they have received a package is ineffective. While BC places a handwritten slip in students' mailboxes when they receive packages, many other universities send students e-mails.

If BC were to implement this system, it would not only be more convenient for students, who now have to check their mailboxes in order to find out if their packages have arrived, but it would also be easier for post office employees. Through this system, they could simply enter names into a computer program that would e-mail an automated message to everyone who has received a package. This way, students living on Lower Campus would not have to travel to McElroy several days in a row just to see if their packages have arrived.

This minor change would barely cost the school anything and could even help it save money.

A more costly but equally important way to enhance student life at BC would be to make the entire campus wireless. Currently, wireless Internet is only available in academic buildings, common areas, and a few select residences. In order to access the Internet in a residence hall, students have to be close to the Ethernet jack in their bedrooms or go to common areas within their buildings, which usually have mediocre wireless signals. Many students on campus live in suites where the only Internet jacks are located in bedrooms. Without Ethernet jacks in common areas or wireless within residence hall rooms, students using the Internet are either confined to their desks or forced to buy a long Ethernet wire and run it throughout their rooms. With the current setup, students are unable to use the Internet in the common area if their roommates are sleeping and blocking the outlet, or if they simply do not want to sit at their desks.

In the Boston area, many schools have started to make housing wireless. Northeastern has some wireless residence halls, most of Boston University's housing is wireless, and all Bentley Colleg and Harvard University residents enjoy high-speed, wireless Internet in their rooms.

Although more of a luxury than a necessity, for the cost of about $100 per bus, BC could outfit each shuttle with a GPS receiver. Students could then visit a Web site and see the location of all BC buses in real time. Although its implementation is by no means urgent, it would be especially helpful to students living off-campus. Since most off-campus apartments are located relatively close to BC bus stops, this service would reduce wait times for students trying to plan when they should leave in order to get to class on time. It would also allow students to track the whereabouts of the buses during the peak hours at night, so they do not have to wait for a bus outside for long periods of time. Further, during the winter months, there is no greater feeling than catching the bus perfectly and avoiding a wait in a snowstorm or below freezing temperatures, and no worse feeling than seeing the bus pull away as you approach the stop knowing you will have to wait about 20 minutes before another bus passes through. Even though the school would have to pay for the GPS receivers in order to start this service, students at BC would greatly appreciate its implementation.

All of these suggestions, with a little investment on the part of BC, would better student life both on and off campus and make BC one of the pioneers in cutting-edge college technology.