Technical Difficulties; Source of campus tech issues pinpointed

Southern University students have encountered connectivity issues for nearly three months, in the wake of the collapse of the bridge leading to the residential area of campus. The now crumbled support system for the bridge housed hot and chill water storage, as well as the conduit that contained fibers for internet, telephone and cable connectivity. Due to pressure from the collapsed support system and corrosion from water in the ravine, the conduit was broken, exposing fibers to the elements, and ultimately resulting in the deterioration of connectivity.
This issue was brought to the attention of Dr. Carlos Thomas, Chief Information Officer and Associate Professor of Information Systems and Decision Science by his staff on January 29 of this year. Thomas immediately reported the issue to Executive Director of Facility Services Eli Guillory III and Interim Chancellor Flandus McClinton via email, stating, “We need to…remediate the broken fiber conduit. Otherwise, we risk loss of connectivity for the dorms, activity center, student health, counseling center, and guard shack.” Thomas’ email also included pictures highlighting the extent of the damage.
“Nothing was actually done,” explained Thomas. “There was a lot of talking, and finger pointing and so on and so forth.”
This was not the only time Thomas communicated these issues, as another email dated March 2 reveals correspondence with Environmental Safety and Health & Risk Management Director Robert Nissen, Physical Plant Director Henry Thurman and McClinton. Thomas once again stressed the importance of the situation, stating, “To ensure stable connectivity to the dorms and other units in that area, we need to get these pipes repaired.”
Thomas and his staff could not act independently to rectify the problem, as it was a result of infrastructure failure, and would require state approval and contractors to reconstruct housing for the conduit. The construction that took place to rebuild a temporary vehicular bridge did not include repairs to the conduit. A meeting regarding the connectivity issues did not take place until the summer, which resulted in a work order for the conduit being attached to the current construction taking place on Roosevelt Steptoe Drive.
“We’ve had students all summer who’ve not had these services that they paid for,” said Thomas. “If they did have it, it was intermittent, but we need to have this remediated.”
Connectivity was restored for the residential area of campus on August 18. The current remedy for the issue has been to connect the exposed ends of the fiber through a process called splicing, after which the conduit was reattached to the temporary bridge. Internet connection, along with telephone and cable has returned, albeit temperamental.
Students can login to campus wireless Internet using their Blackboard username and password.