Bemidji State News Reporting S'11: Why the Super Lab Moved

The Facts behind Switching the Labs to Memorial Hall are clear

By Tony Barber and Max Hodgdon

Last summer, the Student Technology Center and the Information Technology Services office switched locations on campus. This took place with little attention from students and faculty. According to Melissa Arneson Computer Analyst and Student Manager at BSU, the move was intended to be beneficial for students and staff. Whether this goal was reached is still up for debate.

The Student Technology Center, better known as the super lab, is where many students have the opportunity to work in a quiet environment and finish homework. The original location of the super lab was in Deputy Hall, but was moved to the basement of Memorial Hall last summer. Perhaps this move seemed insignificant; however there are significant reasons behind it.

One reason had to do with scheduling. Deputy Hall is an administrative building and shuts down at 5:00 p.m., which created a conflict with the lab being open until midnight, explained Arneson. Secondly, it was determined that the lab should be more centralized on campus.

The move was partially funded by BSU students. Each student pays $135 in technology fees per semester. This is used to pay for computer software, printers, paper, and student workers wages and labor. Part of the technology fees went towards the move. At the time Arneson made a proposal to make the switch, both of the rooms needed new carpet and repainting.

The only cost to the University aside from labor of both staff and student workers was the cost of the new furniture for the new wireless lounge in the back of the Student Technology Center. The couches were put in for the students to relax when taking a break from their studies. This is a luxury that was not previously afforded from the super lab. The total came to approximately $7,000 for the three couches, three love seats, and two tables with four chairs each, according to Arneson.

The $7,000 came from student technology fees. Currently there are approximately 5300 students enrolled at BSU. The $7,000 averages out to about $1.32 per student. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) Mitch Davidson went to Student Senate for approval of the move, and was met with little opposition.

When the super lab was in Deputy Hall, the student workers scanned student IDs to verify their current student status, but the workers had no way of actually keeping track of lab use. This semester is the first time they are starting to keep track of how many students are using the labs. “There was a drop in use of the labs initially, because students didn’t know where the super lab was,” said Student Manager Prativa Joshi. “Now it is used more than in Deputy.” Joshi likes the switch because it provides a better work place for her and students using the lab.

Another potential issue for students is student employment at the labs. “The overall student numbers haven’t changed,” said Arneson, “but we have changed a little bit how we do things.” Oak Lab was closed due to lack of support from students, which cost a couple of jobs, but Information Technology Services itself gained two student positions to give assistance to computer labs campus-wide. These two students help maintain 52 I-Macintosh computers in public labs. This is only part of the 557 computers on campus.

According to the Apple Web site, each computer cost approximately $1500. This is before they are equipped with windows compatibility and Adobe CS 5. There are also public labs in Decker Hall and Memorial Hall.