Technology has proven to be both friend and foe to the modern college student. Information is just a click away with free Wi-Fi available in most coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, libraries and college campuses. However, there are still some establishments who have not caught up with these technological times.

San Diego Mesa College, like most other campuses, boasts that they too have stepped into the modern age of technology by offering free Wi-Fi for its laptop owning student body. Now students can reference their professor’s Blackboard – a website designed for professors to communicate and post resources for their students – updates, submit homework or spend time procrastinating on social networking sites.

In order to use this free Wi-Fi, one must be confined to the Learning Resource Center. That is how our campus differs from most other campuses in the area, such as San Diego State University or University of San Diego. The LRC is a fairly large structure that offers comfy chairs, desks and study rooms for students, but more often than not, one cannot find the proper place to sit and do their work.

The fourth floor offers a computer lab that is nowhere near large enough to accommodate the more than 20,000 students enrolled at Mesa. While searching for a computer in the lab, one has the assurance that a good number of people are using the computers to update their Facebook or to watch the latest episode of Desperate Housewives, and even though you actually have work to do, you silently shake your head and move on because there is not one available station. This poses a big problem to those who need access to the lab for school-related purposes.

Campus wide Wi-Fi would clear up the labs and create space for those who do not have a computer handy to complete their work. This would allow more space on the Mesa campus for students to do their schoolwork or, inevitably, fool around on their laptops without overpopulating the LRC.

It seems as if more and more professors are starting to realize the benefits of online resources. Some classes are available entirely online. Why should students be limited to the LRC for Internet on campus?

The Internet has posed both a blessing and a curse for the youth. However, those who take advantage of the educational benefits of the Internet should not be punished; nor be limited to one area on campus where a computer or a suitable space to study are not even guaranteed.

Understandably, money is tight in the current economy. Budget cuts have limited class availability and increased enrollment fees, but with funds being poured into frivolous changes such as the cafeteria split, surely they could take a little chunk out and improve students’ access to information.