To most incoming first-years, the shiny new iMac computers in Sellinger lounge and on the lower floors of ICC represent one of the many novelties of university life. They inspire a vision of grandeur: They are part of an institution on the cutting edge of technology that constantly provides up-to-date means for carrying out a quest for knowledge. To most returning students, the ICC computers are a welcome replacement to the old, sporadically functioning terminals, whose disappearing mouse balls rendered them nearly useless, and the Sellinger computers are a long-awaited addition to the building the University deems our student center. But what is most significant about the new computers is not what people think about them, but rather the process by which they came about: from administrators, specifically those at University Information Services, listening to students and working with them to implement their ideas.
Other University departments that provide student services on campus should follow UIS’s lead. They consistently pay attention to students and put their ideas into action. Installing these newest computers is not the first time UIS has acted this way. The upgrades to computer labs across campus, the introduction of wireless networking in ICC and Leavey, and the new St. Mary’s Technology Center with a 24-hour computing lab all represent steps UIS has taken to address students’ complaints and suggestions about technology.
Credit for the new computers also goes to the Georgetown University Student Association, who worked with UIS to determine how the computers could best meet students’ needs. GUSA President Kaydee Bridges (SFS ‘03) described several meetings at which UIS actively sought student input from GUSA. Actions such as these lend legitimacy to GUSA as a representative body and prove that students and administrators can work together effectively to produce results.
Such cooperation is likely to continue, as UIS has committed to working with a student computing oversight committee appointed by GUSA. This collaboration has the potential to preemptively identify issues and needs before they become problems, which is even more of a rarity at Georgetown.
Congratulations to UIS and GUSA for showing that our system can work and students can get what they want.
