DEAD SPOTS

Most Wi-Fi access restored by late afternoon

UNM’s IT department has a rough first day of classes as widespread internet outages on campus frustrate students.

Students and employees at the University of New Mexico spent most of their first day back on campus without the internet.

Gabriel Gallegos, a junior, said he had been struggling with intermittent access all day. He said he believes internet access is crucial to the modern college experience.

“Today’s outage has shown how reliant we are on the internet for all that we do at UNM,” Gallegos said. Ironically enough, those affected took to Twitter, an online social site, to vent their frustrations about the Wi-Fi outages.

The trouble started about 10:45 a.m. By Monday evening, about 99 percent of campus had regained Wi-Fi access.

Duane Arruti, the director of IT applications, said staff responded to the issue immediately and were working as of Monday afternoon to identify what happened and hoped to have more information by today.

“This is not something we like to have happen,” Arruti said.

Steve Perry, director of IT networks, said staff do not believe the issue was caused by an influx of students, but that it was too soon to say. The outage also meant long lines at the bookstore. During the middle of the day, only four registers were open while dozens of students waited to make their purchases. The email system and online learning website were also down. And the student-run newspaper, the Daily Lobo, relied on cellphones to get the word out about the spotty Wi-Fi service, according to its editor, David Lynch.