Bates dining hall felt different: laptops (frequent guests of the dining table) disappeared, and frustration simmered beneath the surface. The answer did not appear until my roommate complained about the wifi outage on campus later. On Nov. 14, Wellesley College experienced a complete wifi outage for half a day. This was more than a mere inconvenience. It exposed the campus’s heavy dependence on digital infrastructure and the administration’s inadequate crisis preparedness, emphasizing the need for improved emergency communication systems and contingency planning.
The recent Wifi outage on campus revealed just how fragile our academic routines become without stable internet access. During registration week, the disruption wasn’t just inconvenient; it was anxiety-inducing. My friend almost had a panic attack as she did not complete her save schedule on Workday before the start of registration at 8 a.m. the next day.
Anxiety was shared among Wellesley students with registration tasks. A Sidechat user also posted for help as they did not finish registering for courses before the internet went out, fearing missing the chance to register until the add/drop period in spring.
Beyond registration, the outage also made simple tasks frustratingly difficult. I remembered spending 10 frantic minutes running around different floors of the science center trying to find my geology professor because Sakai, my usual guide for office hours, was down. It took an encounter with my lab instructor to find the right place. These moments of confusion and panic are a stark reminder that a stable internet isn’t just a luxury — it’s a lifeline.
Yet, what stood out even more was the administration’s inadequate response. The internet went down around 1:30 p.m., yet the administration didn’t issue an official update until 8:36 p.m., leaving students without answers for nearly seven hours. Moreover, this update was sent through email — useless for those without cellular data, since it requires an internet connection to receive.
Anxiety and confusion spread as students waited for updates on the cause and resolution. The outage also highlighted the absence of backup systems for critical tasks. First-year students preparing for class registration the next day had to wait until 6:30 p.m. for their class dean to advise them — only to be told to wait longer. The impact extended to students taking MIT classes, who couldn’t access SSH, a necessary program for CS class, without Wellesley authorization.
Despite this, the administration failed to offer alternative resources or on-site IT assistance. Most concerning, the campus police line went down, forcing students to call 911 for emergencies. While Wellesley has an emergency notification system, the administration fails to employ it as an effective communication measure. If used, students were able to receive critical updates via text, instead of cellular data. This incident reveals the urgent need for stronger contingency plans and better communication protocols.
Some have noted that the outage offered a rare chance to disconnect, but the benefit does not outweigh the chaos it created. This incident of wifi outage calls for more prepared emergency protocols as internet connection is ingrained within many aspects of Wellesley life.
To enhance preparedness, the administration should consider linking critical websites to multiple servers instead of one. Additionally, implementing alternative communication methods, such as text message notifications or pop-up alerts, would ensure effective updates during future emergencies.
Contact the editor(s) responsible for this story: Caitlin Donovan
