Imagine you are on a tight deadline, and you’ve battled the Wi-Fi all day to work on a paper. You are so close to being done and clicking the submit button but … out goes the Wi-Fi. You watch the greyed-out submit button load and load. ‘This cannot be happening, not now,’ you think. But, no matter how many times you refresh your computer, you have no way of knowing when the signal is coming back.

This routine might sound familiar for students here at Duquesne University.

For almost everyone on campus, their devices are connected to the university Wi-Fi because it’s secure, convenient and reliable. What are people to do when that stability is gone? What can be done when the day-to-day is constantly disrupted by connection loss?

The Duke talked to students around campus whose experience reflected ours. All of them had similar sentiments regarding shoddy service at Duquesne.

“It’s pretty typical for Duquesne Wi-Fi. I feel like it has its days but of the time it’s pretty slow and not super reliable,” said fourth year athletic training student Miranda Clark.

Students are struggling to access Canvas throughout the day, missing out on precious time that could be better spent doing schoolwork. Websites are refusing to load or lagging after multiple drops in the signal quality.

With the semester well underway, the unpredictable wifi only becomes an added source of anxiety and frustration. An unstable and unreliable network means people have to either venture off campus or embrace the possible chance of everything they’ve worked on being lost by a slight fluctuation in the signal.

Students who do not have available options on or off campus for better Wi-Fi are stuck in a situation they have no way of controlling. The students deserve better, they deserve fast, reliable internet in an age that becomes more digital every day.

Here at The Duke we want better for us, and for our fellow students and faculty. A good Wifi connection is integral to the smooth functioning of the campus. It should be a given that students have the resources they need to succeed on campus.

A minor inconvenience over a prolonged period becomes a larger issue as more time passes. Not to mention, the stakes are continually getting higher. Midterms are weeks away, assessments and assignments are due throughout the week. Stress is inevitable.

Improved wifi would be a benefit to us all and a huge weight off our shoulders. We would like to finally go back to our respective work and maybe successfully submit that paper, all before the semester ends.