Eliminate the WiFi Cutoff at TAMS
Eliminate the WiFi Cutoff at TAMS
The Issue
Dear Administration of the Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science,
The WiFi cutoff that TAMS mandates at McConnell Hall has been ineffective in its goals to get students to be asleep from 1AM to 6AM, and it can even be damaging to the academic performance of the student body. Therefore, we are calling for the TAMS Administration to officially rescind the WiFi cutoff policy.
[Online vs. In-person Disparity] This outdated policy especially makes no sense in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It hurts disadvantaged students that choose to live in McConnell Hall instead of attending TAMS online from home. Students at McConnell will be faced with a schedule that is almost entirely online, and they will have to deal with the WiFi cut off, whereas students living at home will (generally) not have their internet cut off whatsoever. This disparity between in-person attendees versus online students is unfair, which is one of the many reasons this policy should be rescinded.
[Online Classes] Schooling has changed significantly since the WiFi cutoff policy was introduced. It was introduced a bit after the popularization of email and private messaging services because students would stay up on their computers emailing or direct messaging friends and family. There were not many academic resources online when this policy was introduced, but now school is almost solely online. Academic resources like Canvas, textbooks, recorded lectures, scholarly articles, library books, studying resources, Google Suite, etc. are all online and integral to the academic success of the student body. When our peers stay up during the 1AM-6AM time frame, it is almost never because we are mindlessly on the internet, but instead because we are writing an essay, studying for an exam, taking notes, etc.
[Academic Disadvantage] Expanding on the previous section, there is an increasing academic disadvantage because of the WiFi cutoff. The incoming TAMS Class of 2022, by default, will have a completely online schedule, and the majority of the current TAMS Class of 2021 has many online classes. That means the aforementioned online resources are more vital to the academic success of the student body of TAMS. Our job to perform well as students becomes unnecessarily more difficult when there is a policy in place that restricts access to the resources necessary for us to study, learn, and grow as students. A specific example of academic disadvantage in recent years is when a former TAMS student was unable to finish an essay for a class and flunked out of the Academy because of it. No student of TAMS should fail out of the program because of the WiFi cutoff. Additionally, it is not the role of the TAMS Administration to decide when someone works or studies best. Some people work effectively at 2AM and some people want to get up at 4AM to work. People that want to work at these times should not be restricted from doing so as long as they are developing healthy sleep habits that work best for them.
[Socioeconomic Disadvantage] On top of the academic disadvantages of this policy, the WiFi cutoff is designed in such a manner that exacerbates socioeconomic disadvantages. The WiFi cutoff consistently does not cut off Ethernet internet access nor does it jam cellular signals. That means, you can bypass not having WiFi by purchasing an Ethernet cable, relying on an expensive unlimited data mobile plan, or even purchasing hotspot data to use in place of WiFi. Some people do not have access to these by virtue of cost, so not having free WiFi access disproportionately affects lower income students.
[Medical Disadvantage] One factor that is rarely considered is within the realm of medicine and healthcare. In 2020, more and more medical devices rely on access to the internet to effectively monitor and communicate the status of someone. For example, this can be true for someone living with diabetes. Some medical devices that monitor diabetes communicate with hospitals via internet connection, so this WiFi cutoff could be so damaging as to prevent the proper notification of emergency services in the event of a medical crisis. That means that the WiFi cutoff could even be dangerous for some students.
[No Significant Impact on Sleep] The TAMS Administration has historically supported this policy because they say it eases the nerves of parents about their children being sent to University. The Administration also argues that this policy is in place to benefit the health of the student body. However, this policy has little to no effect on when TAMS students go to bed. Many people stay up after the WiFi cutoff because they have access to good cellular data, have access to a wireless hotspot, have access to Ethernet, or even stay up without being online. Some students even leave their dorm rooms during the second semester to sit at the end of the hallway closest to Bruce Hall to work off of the Bruce Hall WiFi. This policy only makes getting our academic work done significantly more difficult rather than incentivizing students to sleep. Instead, TAMS could take different steps to comfort parents about their children being away from home.
[Absence of Personal Responsibility and Advocacy] After these reasons, it seems like it would be more effective if the TAMS Administration used different methods than the WiFi cutoff to advocate for the success and health of the TAMS students. That means TAMS should not only continue talking about the importance of sleep, but also talk about how to plan out enough time for sleep each night at TAMS itself. Furthermore, TAMS should dedicate seminars to advocate for the physical and mental well-being of the students. Additionally, TAMS should take steps to encourage the student population to be personally responsible and successful after leaving the academy. Specifically, the TAMS Administration should emphasize the importance of students developing their own healthy sleep patterns. The WiFi cutoff policy does not do so, and there are more effective, less consequential, ways of encouraging students to sleep. After TAMS, students will be capable of having a healthy sleep schedule without outside assistance.
[Survey Data] We would also like to mention that Melody Shen, class of 2018, conducted a poll of 167 students and recently-graduated alumni over their respective sleep schedules and workload with regard to the WiFi cutoff. This data has proven helpful in the argument against the cutoff, and it goes into a depth that we believe is necessary to recognize in this petition.
Link to the Results: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-zB87r1iB4Bcmc0UrDwuggTUp5g4_2Y3XtIG5wNMEaU/edit?fbclid=IwAR0v0AiGBoo6tgz0ikvzuSCNSu7JXepe_cjAsz3q6iyYK9FWweiMbv7Qyrs
Link to the Raw Data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fzTOHXkC0XyIRtHHWhlc_JD5veRn2tVsF1IHe0psbTI/edit#gid=0
Sincerely,
Braiden Aaronson, TAMS Class of 2021
Navya Chintaman, TAMS Class of 2021
119
The Issue
Dear Administration of the Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science,
The WiFi cutoff that TAMS mandates at McConnell Hall has been ineffective in its goals to get students to be asleep from 1AM to 6AM, and it can even be damaging to the academic performance of the student body. Therefore, we are calling for the TAMS Administration to officially rescind the WiFi cutoff policy.
[Online vs. In-person Disparity] This outdated policy especially makes no sense in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It hurts disadvantaged students that choose to live in McConnell Hall instead of attending TAMS online from home. Students at McConnell will be faced with a schedule that is almost entirely online, and they will have to deal with the WiFi cut off, whereas students living at home will (generally) not have their internet cut off whatsoever. This disparity between in-person attendees versus online students is unfair, which is one of the many reasons this policy should be rescinded.
[Online Classes] Schooling has changed significantly since the WiFi cutoff policy was introduced. It was introduced a bit after the popularization of email and private messaging services because students would stay up on their computers emailing or direct messaging friends and family. There were not many academic resources online when this policy was introduced, but now school is almost solely online. Academic resources like Canvas, textbooks, recorded lectures, scholarly articles, library books, studying resources, Google Suite, etc. are all online and integral to the academic success of the student body. When our peers stay up during the 1AM-6AM time frame, it is almost never because we are mindlessly on the internet, but instead because we are writing an essay, studying for an exam, taking notes, etc.
[Academic Disadvantage] Expanding on the previous section, there is an increasing academic disadvantage because of the WiFi cutoff. The incoming TAMS Class of 2022, by default, will have a completely online schedule, and the majority of the current TAMS Class of 2021 has many online classes. That means the aforementioned online resources are more vital to the academic success of the student body of TAMS. Our job to perform well as students becomes unnecessarily more difficult when there is a policy in place that restricts access to the resources necessary for us to study, learn, and grow as students. A specific example of academic disadvantage in recent years is when a former TAMS student was unable to finish an essay for a class and flunked out of the Academy because of it. No student of TAMS should fail out of the program because of the WiFi cutoff. Additionally, it is not the role of the TAMS Administration to decide when someone works or studies best. Some people work effectively at 2AM and some people want to get up at 4AM to work. People that want to work at these times should not be restricted from doing so as long as they are developing healthy sleep habits that work best for them.
[Socioeconomic Disadvantage] On top of the academic disadvantages of this policy, the WiFi cutoff is designed in such a manner that exacerbates socioeconomic disadvantages. The WiFi cutoff consistently does not cut off Ethernet internet access nor does it jam cellular signals. That means, you can bypass not having WiFi by purchasing an Ethernet cable, relying on an expensive unlimited data mobile plan, or even purchasing hotspot data to use in place of WiFi. Some people do not have access to these by virtue of cost, so not having free WiFi access disproportionately affects lower income students.
[Medical Disadvantage] One factor that is rarely considered is within the realm of medicine and healthcare. In 2020, more and more medical devices rely on access to the internet to effectively monitor and communicate the status of someone. For example, this can be true for someone living with diabetes. Some medical devices that monitor diabetes communicate with hospitals via internet connection, so this WiFi cutoff could be so damaging as to prevent the proper notification of emergency services in the event of a medical crisis. That means that the WiFi cutoff could even be dangerous for some students.
[No Significant Impact on Sleep] The TAMS Administration has historically supported this policy because they say it eases the nerves of parents about their children being sent to University. The Administration also argues that this policy is in place to benefit the health of the student body. However, this policy has little to no effect on when TAMS students go to bed. Many people stay up after the WiFi cutoff because they have access to good cellular data, have access to a wireless hotspot, have access to Ethernet, or even stay up without being online. Some students even leave their dorm rooms during the second semester to sit at the end of the hallway closest to Bruce Hall to work off of the Bruce Hall WiFi. This policy only makes getting our academic work done significantly more difficult rather than incentivizing students to sleep. Instead, TAMS could take different steps to comfort parents about their children being away from home.
[Absence of Personal Responsibility and Advocacy] After these reasons, it seems like it would be more effective if the TAMS Administration used different methods than the WiFi cutoff to advocate for the success and health of the TAMS students. That means TAMS should not only continue talking about the importance of sleep, but also talk about how to plan out enough time for sleep each night at TAMS itself. Furthermore, TAMS should dedicate seminars to advocate for the physical and mental well-being of the students. Additionally, TAMS should take steps to encourage the student population to be personally responsible and successful after leaving the academy. Specifically, the TAMS Administration should emphasize the importance of students developing their own healthy sleep patterns. The WiFi cutoff policy does not do so, and there are more effective, less consequential, ways of encouraging students to sleep. After TAMS, students will be capable of having a healthy sleep schedule without outside assistance.
[Survey Data] We would also like to mention that Melody Shen, class of 2018, conducted a poll of 167 students and recently-graduated alumni over their respective sleep schedules and workload with regard to the WiFi cutoff. This data has proven helpful in the argument against the cutoff, and it goes into a depth that we believe is necessary to recognize in this petition.
Link to the Results: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-zB87r1iB4Bcmc0UrDwuggTUp5g4_2Y3XtIG5wNMEaU/edit?fbclid=IwAR0v0AiGBoo6tgz0ikvzuSCNSu7JXepe_cjAsz3q6iyYK9FWweiMbv7Qyrs
Link to the Raw Data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fzTOHXkC0XyIRtHHWhlc_JD5veRn2tVsF1IHe0psbTI/edit#gid=0
Sincerely,
Braiden Aaronson, TAMS Class of 2021
Navya Chintaman, TAMS Class of 2021
119
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on July 20, 2020