Pagbutlak

By: Rey Mark Paran & Eunice Marie L. Ferolino

During most weekdays and weeknights of the semester, University of the Philippines Visayas students search for spaces on campus to relax, work on projects, and socialize. While the university provides students with areas to study, students still reported spotty internet access and lack of co-working study spaces inside the campus, one semester into face-to-face setup.

As the university returned to face-to-face in hybrid format, where 75% of classes is delivered onsite while 25% is delivered online, the problem on WiFi access and study spaces persisted leaving students with no conducive space to study or to do their academic works.

Struggling with WiFi access

Wifi connections can only be accessible to certain parts of the campus, and frustration among the students has become more common as internet connectivity problems persist mostly at night when students are doing their academic work.

Arjay Villasante, a statistics senior who currently resides in Balay Madyaas is frustrated with the slow and intermittent WiFi connection because it hinders his ability to do her schoolworks in the dormitory. He, like many other on-campus dormitory residents, relies on the school’s internet connection to study and complete assignments.

“Dito sa Balay Madyaas ay napansin kong lalong lumalala yung problema namin sa wifi. Simula pa noong first semester, walang araw na hindi ako nakakaranas nang biglaan paghina o pagkawala ng wifi. Madalas akong tumambay sa lobby ng aming dormitory upang makakuha ng maayos na wifi connection dahil hindi umaabot ang wifi signal sa loob ng aming mga kwarto.”

Villasante added that this issue has been raised with dorm staff and dorm managers, and even the dorm council has been made aware of this problem. However, the dorm manager and dorm staff can only do so much, such as contacting the IT Office to report the problem. 

Students who live off campus are just as disappointed. Rodney Arnolf Opu-an, a BS in Biology junior who boards a dormitory outside the campus, said he often goes to university study spaces, especially when there’s a wide gap between his first and following class.

“Malimit akong pumupunta sa student spaces lalong-lalo na kapag malalaki ang oras na pagitan ng mga klase ko. Nakikikonek ako sa WiFi ng unibersidad at kadalasan ay nag-aaral ako o di kaya ay gumagawa ng mga school requirements,” said Opu-an. 

While he acknowledged the strong wifi connectivity in some of the study spaces inside the university, there were still instances of intermittent or lost connection.

Enhancing connectivity means infrastructure upgrade

Engr. Rico Hortillo, IT Officer I of the Data and Information Systems Program (DISP) at UP Visayas, attributed the intermittent Wi-Fi connection to the limited number of access points in the campus and partly due to the old network equipment and fiber optic infrastructure. Engr. Hortillo added that since there are many more students on campus this semester due to the return of face-to-face classes compared to the last school year, Wi-Fi usage has become overloaded.

“Pag first sem, face-to-face na, kag damo na ang estudyante ta, and naconfirm ko rin sa dorms na 100% full na ang [accommodation] nila. Previous semester, partial pa ang pagdating ng mga students, so okay pa ang bandwidth. Now na nagbalik na ang mga students, ang capacity ng bandwidth ay hindi na same ng before, medyo na-overwhelm din ang network dahil sa dami ng gumagamit,” Engr. Hortillo reasoned.

He added that the multiple reports of WiFi outrages, especially from dormitory areas inside the campus, was because of equipment overloaded, thus underscoring the need to be not just equipment upgrade but internet infrastructure upgrade as a whole. 

“[Kapag] naimplement namin ang fiber optic upgrade and additional WiFi sa mga dorms, pero if same pa rin, problem pa rin yun sa amin. Wala pa man schedule, but may plan man ang UP System to upgrade the bandwidth per [constituent unit], but this time, wala pa naman balita,” Engr. Hortillo added stating one of the remedies is to add access points in the campus.

Engr. Hortillo further noted that currently, the CAS building has an insufficient number of almost 10 access points, which are wireless routers with radios that allow devices to connect to the internet. 

“Almost 10 lang ang WiFi points natin sa [CAS building], so i-eexpect mo na hindi niya maco-cover lahat ng WiFi signal for the whole hallway, so if ara ka sa punta wala gid signal. So ang option ta, additional WiFi sa hallway,” said Engr. Hortillo.

Demands for more study spaces

In addition to the campus’s internet connectivity issues, students have also expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of available study and co-working spaces on campus, especially during nighttime hours.

Regarding accessibility, the only place open during the evenings on campus is the Common Dining Hall (CDH), situated within the dormitory area. However, the CDH typically closes at 8:00 PM as its main purpose is to serve as a cafeteria, not a dedicated study space. This situation leaves students with limited options for finding a convenient and conducive place for studying with reliable Wi-Fi access.

To address this growing concern, the UP Visayas University Student Council (USC) in the previous semester made an effort to temporarily repurposing the CDH into a study lounge specifically for the ‘hell week’ or exam period, providing students with a more suitable learning environment, even during late hours, dubbed as ‘Kapihan sa CDH,’ an initiative adopted from UP Diliman USC, UP Baguio USC, UP Cebu USC, and UP Mindanao USC.

“The rationale behind the Kapihan sa CDH was simple and straightforward: to cater one of the pressing needs of the sector the USC represents–the need for UP Visayas students to access alternative student spaces where they can review, discuss lessons, do academic workload, and watch lecture videos without having to pay for co-working spaces,” emphasized Dayata.

While efforts have been made to compensate for this inadequacy, the student councils and the students per se recognized this as a problem especially in the return to face-to-face classes. 

The UPV USC cited that in the context of the university’s rapid population growth, there is a need to “allocate funding for the development and improvement of educational facilities, including the construction, renovation, and expansion of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and other essential learning spaces, and address the need to enhance residential facilities, particularly the dormitories.”

During the one-on-one sectoral interviews with the nominees organized by the UP Visayas USC and the All UP Academic Employees Union Iloilo Chapter, incumbent UP Visayas Chancellor said that his administration would try to source out additional funds via donations and the support of the alums to address such issues.

On hopes and fantasy

While we can only hope for the immediate actions, the situation calls for a more comprehensive and expedited resolution to alleviate the ongoing challenges faced by the UP Visayas students. The persisting issues of erratic Wi-Fi connectivity and the lack of enough study spaces reflect systemic shortcomings that demand urgent attention and proactive measures.

The planned upgrades and initiatives to bolster internet connectivity signify a step in the right direction, but a comprehensive overhaul of the infrastructure remains imperative for sustainable solutions.

As Villasante hopes to graduate at the end of this semester, he calls for immediate action to this problem in the university.

“Sana mabigyan ito ng priority at maayos as soon as possible dahil nagiging cause ito ng delay sa productivity ng mga estudyante, lalong-lalo na sa pagcomply ng mga requirements. Ang madalas na connectivity issues ay nagiging hadlang sa pagkakaroon ng isang conducive learning environment at the comfort of our own dorms,” stressed Villasante.